2007 Silicon Valley Projections - Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Health Care
Jurisdiction San Francisco 7 San Mateo County 8
Brief Description
Creation of a Health Access Program
that offers comprehensive health-care
services to uninsured San Franciscans
and their employers at a reasonable
cost, with subsidies for small and
medium-sized businesses and low
and moderate-income individuals.
Would emphasize preventive care
through regular checkups, which
would limit the amount of people
who need the emergency room.
However, this would not be the same
as health insurance because it will
not extend health care coverage outside
of the city limits.
The county already provides universal
children’s health coverage
through its Children’s Health
Initiative program (Healthy Kids),
and the same could be done for
adults earning less that 400% of the
federal poverty level.
The current Health Plan of San
Mateo and WELL (Wellness
Education Linkage Low Cost) program
work independently to provide
health coverage for people with very
low incomes, but fails to help homeless
and those making slightly more
than the low salaries that qualify for
the programs. However, there are
talks of the Health Plan taking over
the county’s WELL program, which
believe it will save money that can
be used to create new adult programs.
Payors
Estimated to cost $200 million
annually, and is planned to be paid
through city funds, and also through
a combination of business contributions
and member premiums.
The cost of providing such a plan
could be lessened by using a combination
of taxpayer dollars from its
health care districts, and a contribution
from private hospitals and business
owners to put together its plan.
Benefits
Low-cost medical services for thousands
of uninsured, including non-
US citizens.
The Health Access Program would
give individuals access to a primarycare
doctor, nurse or medical assistant
at one of the city’s public or
nonprofit clinic. Enrollees can receive
acute care and specialty services
through a network, including San
Francisco General Hospital and the
city’s nonprofit hospitals. It would
cover services such as doctor visits
and surgeries, as well as prescription
drugs.
Low-cost medical services for thousands
of uninsured, including non-
US citizens.
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