Court Upholds San Francisco Health Care Coverage

by Mike Hall, Jan 10, 2008

Nearly 80,000 San Franciscans without health coverage won a major victory when a federal appeals court yesterday lifted an injunction against the city’s Health Access Program that provides health coverage to all uninsured adults and requires employers to share the costs.

The plan was approved by the city’s Board of Supervisors in July 2006. The program 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.

The ordinance splits the costs among employers, employees and the city. To prevent employers from eliminating coverage, the San Francisco health care initiative establishes a minimum health care spending requirement for businesses in the city, depending on the number of employees.

But in November 2006, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association filed suit against the health care ordinance, and last December, a federal judge granted the business group’s request for an injunction barring the city from enforcing the health program.

The city, joined by several San Francisco unions, appealed the decision. Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit lifted the injunction pending a decision by the court on the merits of the appeal. Says San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera:

This an important victory for thousands of uninsured San Franciscans who will now be eligible to receive health benefits in the next several months.

The San Francisco Labor Council, UNITE HERE Local 2 and SEIU Local 1021 joined in the city’s request to strike down the injunction.

With 47 million uninsured Americans, health care is a major focus of the 2008 presidential election. Former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) complains that those 47 million Americans without health insurance are just slackers waiting for a free government handout.

Democratic candidates have outlined detailed proposals to bring quality health care to working families. Most Republican proposals focus on protecting the private insurance industry. Click here for a comprehensive chart explaining the proposals of each candidate and how they stack up against the principles of the AFL-CIO health care campaign.

Along with taking the lead in health care, San Francisco is also the first city in the nation to require employers to provide workers paid sick leave. In 2006, voters approved paid sick leave referendum and the law went into effect last June.

The measure requires employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by any employee, whether they perform full-time, part-time or temporary work. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees are required to offer five days per year per worker, while larger employers must provide nine days per year. The time can be used to care for a sick child, partner or other loved one.

According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, nearly half of private-sector workers have no paid sick days and low-income workers fare even worse—76 percent have no paid sick leave.

Last year, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduced the Healthy Families Act (S. 910 and H.R. 1542) that would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide workers seven paid sick leave days a year to take care of themselves or a family member.  

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