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Department of Public Health says Healthy San Francisco enrollment stable at ~13,500 despite COVID‑19; supervisors press for targeted outreach
Summary
Department of Public Health officials told the board that enrollment in Healthy San Francisco has remained around 13,300–13,500 in May, but supervisors urged expanded outreach to Latinx and limited‑English communities amid higher COVID‑19 positivity in those groups.
Supervisors pressed Department of Public Health officials on June 23 about outreach and enrollment for Healthy San Francisco, the city's locally funded health access program for uninsured and underinsured residents.
Supervisor Hillary Ronan asked about enrollment declines and whether the department had data and outreach targeted to communities with high COVID‑19 positivity rates — particularly Latino residents. Alice Carneotti, a Department of Public Health official, said enrollment has held roughly steady at about 13,300–13,500 over the previous year. The department noted a large historical enrollment peak before Medi‑Cal expansion when enrollment approached 60,000; most of that earlier population transitioned to Medi‑Cal. Since February, the program experienced a modest decline of roughly 400 participants, the department said, and attributed part of that to in‑person enrollment sites closing under shelter‑in‑place and to some participants transitioning to newly expanded Medi‑Cal eligibility (including undocumented young adults).
The department described steps taken during the pandemic: automatic 90‑day extensions for enrollee terms between March 17 and June 17; a temporary pause on disenrollments for nonpayment of participant fees; phone‑ and Zoom‑based enrollment at key enrollment centers including Zuckerberg San Francisco General and the San Francisco Health Plan enrollment center; outreach to community hub partners; and a new financial assistance program with multilingual invoicing (English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog).
Supervisor Ronan pressed whether the department is using Spanish‑language radio and other bilingual media to reach Latinx residents. Alice Carneotti said the department was not currently running paid media buys on radio in Spanish or Chinese and that more focused outreach was a worthwhile next step. Supervisor Ronan said she would convene a follow‑up with the Latino Task Force on COVID‑19 to help tailor messaging and outreach.
Why it matters: Board members said the city's ongoing public‑health response must reach those communities with disproportionate COVID‑19 case counts and with limited awareness of locally funded access programs. Officials said the program has adjusted operations to continue enrollment remotely and has seen a bounce back in May after a lower point in April.
Formal action: Resolutions to authorize contracts and grant acceptance for elements of Healthy San Francisco (items 12–14) were adopted unanimously by roll call prior to the exchange; the transcript records the resolutions as adopted with 11 ayes.
