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San Francisco health department proposes "bridge to coverage" and wellness fund to make ACA plans affordable for low-wage workers
Summary
The Department of Public Health proposed modernizing the city option of the Health Care Security Ordinance to subsidize premiums and cost‑sharing for roughly 3,000 covered employees and to create an employee wellness fund; the commission asked staff for stress tests and more design details before a scheduled vote on Aug. 4.
Deputy Director Colleen Chawla told the Health Commission that the Department of Public Health is asking the commission to modernize the city option of the Health Care Security Ordinance and to create a new employee wellness fund aimed at making Covered California plans more affordable for low‑ and moderate‑income San Franciscans.
"This proposal leverages existing infrastructure of the City Option Program," Chawla said, and includes a "Bridge to Coverage" feature that would provide premium assistance (about 60% of the second-lowest-cost silver premium, in staff modeling) and cost‑sharing assistance targeted at people earning up to 500% of the federal poverty level. Chawla said the plan would make health insurance affordable for roughly 3,000 San Franciscans in 2016 while preserving Healthy San Francisco as a safety net for those without access to insurance.
Why it matters: The city option is funded by employer contributions required under the 2007 Health Care Security Ordinance. DPH asked outside analysts—UC Berkeley Labor…
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