San Francisco Supervisor Revises Employer Health Insurance Mandate
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano on Thursday said he is amending his employer health insurance mandate to include a monthly fee as low as $50 per worker, compared with his original proposal to charge businesses as much as $345 monthly for employee health insurance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Goodyear, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/27).
Under the original proposal, San Francisco businesses with 20 or more employees that currently do not offer health care coverage would be required to establish health savings accounts and contribute monthly payments for each employee. Businesses also could choose to reimburse workers directly for medical expenses (California Healthline, 1/19).
The revised plan would provide basic preventive medical care for uninsured employees. Employers would contribute between $50 and $75 per month for each worker.
Ammiano said he is in discussions with Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), the Department of Public Health and city businesses on the best methods for providing health care to uninsured residents.
Newsom and business groups have asked for an impartial cost analysis of the legislation, but Ammiano on Thursday suggested that a study would delay a vote on the bill. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Budget and Finance Committee will review the proposal on Wednesday.
Newsom, who did not support the original version of Ammiano's proposal, is still working on the details of his "universal access" plan to provide health insurance for all city residents, the Chronicle reports (San Francisco Chronicle, 1/27).