San Francisco Test-Drives A Public Option

Could a public health option, down but not completely out in Washington, actually work?

Take a look at San Francisco for a clue. An experiment there in universal coverage is bearing fruit, KQED's Sarah Varney reports on Tuesday's Morning Edition.

Called Healthy San Francisco, the program for the uninsured isn't health insurance but instead offers care in clinics and covers admissions to hospitals located in the city.

 

How are the results? Hospital admissions of plan members have dropped, and the average stay for those who wind up in the hospital has been cut almost in half, Varney reports. Those changes suggest chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension, are being managed better, reducing the need for crisis care.

The program, now in its third year, is proving popular. More than 43,000 people were enrolled as of June, up from 24,000 a year before. One reason for the jump: the income test for eligibility was relaxed in February to include people whose income was 500 percent of the poverty level—about $54,000 for a single person and $110,000 for a family of four. The program costs San Francisco about $280 per person per month.

Employers in the city fretted over a 2008 mandate requiring they offer health coverage to employees, contribute to workers' health savings accounts or pitch in on Healthy San Francisco. But predictions the requirements would drive businesses under haven't proved true.

"The San Francisco experiment is working, and it's working well," Ken Jacobs, chair of the University of California, Berkeley labor center, said last month, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "There's no evidence of any impact of the ordinance on employment in San Francisco."