San Francisco may soon become the first city to provide healthcare coverage to all its residents. A plan to cover its uninsured residents through the public health system was unanimously approved in preliminary vote. The proposed Health Access Plan, scheduled for a final vote next week, would offer preventive, primary and emergency care by hospitals and clinics in the city. Anyone seeking care would have the option of enrolling in the program and would pay a monthly fee on a sliding scale based on income. There's also a requirement that businesses employing 20 or more people would either pay into the plan or otherwise contribute to the cost of their employees' healthcare. San Francisco has about 82,000 uninsured residents, most of whom are unemployed. If they all enrolled in the plan, the proposal would cost $200 million. San Francisco already spends about half that amount on care for the uninsured, and the rest would be covered by enrollee fees and contributions from employers. If the program is approved, it would begin operations next July.
For more on San Francisco's plans:
- read this Los Angeles Times article