Report: Healthy San Francisco Coverage Costs Less Than Private Plans
Coverage through Healthy San Francisco costs substantially less than private insurance plans, according to a new report by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/14).
Healthy San Francisco aims to ensure access to health care to all San Francisco residents.
The program relies on funding from the city, state and employers and on fees from people enrolled in the program (California Healthline, 3/12).
The program is not health insurance because it only covers services in San Francisco.
Findings
According to the report, coverage through Healthy San Francisco cost about $280 monthly per person, compared with an average monthly cost of $388 for a Kaiser health plan and $618 for Anthem Blue Cross coverage.
To reach the cost of Healthy San Francisco coverage per individual, researchers divided the cost of operating Healthy San Francisco -- $113 million this fiscal year -- by the number of participants and the number of months they were enrolled in the program.
The report based the figures for private coverage on the price of coverage for a person who is 45 years old, the average age of a Healthy San Francisco participant.Â
Comments
Mitch Katz, director of the health department, said, "From the point of view of financial viability, this is the first proof we have that Healthy San Francisco works." However, he said, the results should not steer people away from private insurance plans they already have.Â
Charles Bacchi -- CEO of the California Association of Health Plans, which represents 40 companies that provide insurance to 21 million state residents -- said the comparison is not accurate because private health plans provide coverage in a wider service area, not just one locality (San Francisco Chronicle, 3/14).
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