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Appeals Court OKs San Francisco Universal Health Care Law |
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San Francisco’s pioneering health care program that provides coverage for 80,000 mostly low-wage workers survived a challenge from the Bush administration and city restaurant owners when a federal appeals court yesterday upheld the program.
Tim Paulson, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council (SFLC), says the court’s ruling
…is a huge win for hard working men and women in San Francisco who are currently without access to health care. We need more health care in San Francisco, not less.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled the health care program does not violate the federal law that regulates employee benefits, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Bush administration and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association sought to overturn the program on those grounds.
The plan—Healthy San Francisco—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 upon the number of employees. If a business does not provide health coverage, it must pay into a fund that provides coverage.
In December, a federal judge granted the business group’s request for an injunction barring the city from enforcing the health program, but in January the Appeals Court allowed the program to go forward while the case was being heard. The restaurant group may appeal yesterday’s ruling.
The San Francisco Labor Council and city unions were instrumental in both winning passage of the health care program and the legal battles. The city says more than 30,000 people already have received basic medical care under Healthy San Francisco. The vast majority are low-wage workers in service, retail and restaurant jobs whose employers do not provide health care coverage and who cannot afford to purchase it on their own.
The plan provides primary preventive care, prescription drug benefits, inpatient and outpatient hospital treatment, diagnostic treatment and mental health treatment, says Paulson:
The San Francisco Healthcare Ordinance creates a level playing field for employers. It gives credit to employers who already offer healthcare to their employees and also allows other employers to comply without disrupting ERISA plans. [It] is sound business policy as well as a win for San Franciscans.
Mayor Gavin Newsome says the city’s health care plan provides a framework for health car reform nationwide. In short:
San Francisco is proving it can be done.
Heath care costs are soaring out of reach for many working families, while wages are stagnant. New studies show that more and more working people are going without needed health care, even those with employer-provided benefits. In addition, 46 million people without health care face even greater obstacles.
So how do the presidential candidates propose to address the nation’s health care crisis?
Sen. John McCain’s plan includes a new health care tax that could put 158 million workers at risk of losing employer-provided health coverage.
Sen. Barack Obama’s plan would enable families to keep their existing health care coverage if they are satisfied with it. His plan would offer options that include letting individuals who don’t have coverage to buy into a public plan.
Click here for the latest comparison between the two plans, here for details on Obama’s health care proposals and here for a look at McCain’s.
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