Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Network Launch topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DPH reports San Francisco Health Network launch and notes Covered California premium changes
Summary
Acting director Colleen Chavla briefed the commission on the July 30 internal launch of the San Francisco Health Network across 28 sites and reviewed Covered California 2015 weighted rate increases (statewide 4.2%, San Francisco region 6.6%) and plan‑level changes.
Acting Director Colleen Chavla updated the Health Commission on the department's recent activities, highlighting the internal launch of the San Francisco Health Network and preliminary Covered California 2015 rate information.
Chavla said the San Francisco Health Network held simultaneous internal launch events at 28 sites on July 30 and credited staff for designing the network's internal marketing and branding. "This network launch was the fulfillment of the first part of our marketing and branding campaign," Roland Pickens, the network director, told commissioners. Staff said an external communications phase will begin before open enrollment in the fall and that the department will return with a further update in September.
Chavla summarized Covered California's 2015 rate filings: a statewide weighted average increase of 4.2 percent, and a 6.6 percent weighted increase for Pricing Region 4, which comprises San Francisco. She described plan‑level weighted average changes for the plans that will remain in San Francisco: Anthem Blue Cross (highest weighted increase, ~10.9 percent), Blue Shield (~6 percent), Health Net (~7.4 percent), Chinese Community Health Plan (~8.9 percent) and Kaiser (lowest weighted average change, ~1.6 percent with some plans showing a small decline and others a modest increase).
Commissioners asked whether the increases narrowed premium dispersion and how the averages were calculated. Chavla said averages were weighted by plan market share and that plan premium ranges vary by age and family size. She agreed to provide the full rate tables and her notes to commissioners.
Chavla also noted two proposed Board of Supervisors measures on enhanced ventilation in sensitive uses and clean construction that align with past Health Commission recommendations on enhanced ventilation in certain developments.
The commission had no public comment on the director's report and moved on to committee business.
