RSS Science/Health Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009, 2:08 pm PST
SF health care a model during national debate
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — This city did not wait for Washington’s health care overhaul. Most uninsured adults here are already reaping the benefits of a government-run health care program — seeing doctors, filling prescriptions, and getting surgeries they could not otherwise afford.
Healthy San Francisco is the nation’s first city-run universal health care plan. While not insurance and not valid outside the city, it does illustrate how some hotly debated elements of plans being considered on Capitol Hill might play out.
In just over two years, the $126 million program has won over its target population, and now covers about 48,000 people — more than two-thirds of San Franciscans who previously had no insurance.
About $20 million a year comes from employers who are required to contribute to their workers’ health care. The mandate is a contentious aspect of the Democratic plan, and the most controversial aspect of San Francisco’s plan.
Healthy San Francisco is the nation’s first city-run universal health care plan. While not insurance and not valid outside the city, it does illustrate how some hotly debated elements of plans being considered on Capitol Hill might play out.
In just over two years, the $126 million program has won over its target population, and now covers about 48,000 people — more than two-thirds of San Franciscans who previously had no insurance.
About $20 million a year comes from employers who are required to contribute to their workers’ health care. The mandate is a contentious aspect of the Democratic plan, and the most controversial aspect of San Francisco’s plan.
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