Some See San Francisco Health Access Program as National Model
Panelists at a town-hall forum on Wednesday concluded that the San Francisco Health Access Program could serve as a national model for expanding access to health care to the uninsured, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The program, set to take effect July 2007, is designed to provide access to health care services to the 82,000 uninsured San Francisco residents. Patients will be able to receive care at San Francisco General Hospital and the city's network of city and community clinics. Medical services will not be covered outside of the city.
The extent to which preventive care will be covered, the structure of drug benefits and other details of the plan have not been finalized.
Public funds, mandatory employer contributions and enrollee copayments will go toward covering the plan's estimated $200 million annual cost.
However, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association earlier this month filed a lawsuit against the city to block the employer contribution mandate of the program (Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/30).