Health Service Board re-elects officers and unanimously approves 2022 retiree health-plan rate cards

The San Francisco Health Service Board re-elected its leadership and approved several retiree health-plan rate cards on motions that passed unanimously during its June meeting. Governance chair Randy Scott moved to re-elect Stephen Folosby as board president and Christopher Canning as vice president for 202122222022; the board recorded the re-elections without public objection and the chair turned the gavel over to the newly confirmed president.

The board approved three separate sets of retiree rate cards after staff presentations and brief discussion. Aon actuary Mike Clark presented the UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage PPO (MAPD) recommendation, which staff said included a 1.2% insured-premium increase for 2022 and a quoted per-member rate of $427.22 per month; commissioners voted to accept the UHC MAPD rate card as presented. Clark also guided the board through Kaiser Permanente multi-region HMO rate cards (Washington, Northwest/Oregon and Hawaii) and recommended approval; commissioners discussed affordability for a small group of early retirees in Washington before approving the multi-region card. Finally, staff recommended accepting the Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage (KPSA) California rate card, which Aon said reflects an estimated 10.83% reduction in insured premium for 2022 (proposed illustrative premium cited), and the board approved it unanimously.

In each case, staff emphasized that the Medicare-rate proposals rely on CMS subsidy estimates that will be reconciled in future renewals. Commissioners asked for clarity on plan benefits cited by staff (for example, chiropractic coverage, post-discharge meal delivery and enhanced transportation riders); Kaiser and Aon representatives confirmed the benefit designs and copay structures during the presentations.

Separately, the board voted to approve a June 2021 addendum to the SFHSS member rules and Section 1.25 cafeteria plan allowing certain temporary changes tied to federal guidance: employees earning $130,000 or less may increase their dependent-care FSA election up to $10,500 for plan year 2021 (per the American Rescue Plan Act), and health-care FSA participants with unspent 2020 balances may carry those balances forward for use in 2021 beyond the usual $550 carryover. SFHSS COO Mitchell Griggs told the board there are about 900 dependent-care FSA enrollments, with roughly 500 employees earning $130,000 or less who could use the ARPA increase, and roughly 4,000 employees enrolled in health-care FSAs. During the public-comment period multiple city employees urged adoption and robust outreach to eligible staff.

Outcomes: The officer re-elections and the three retiree rate cards (UHC MAPD, Kaiser multi-region HMO, KPSA) passed unanimously; the cafeteria-plan addendum passed unanimously as well. Staff noted that the budget revisions discussed earlier in the meeting were already with the Mayor27s Office and the Board of Supervisors, so those items remained discussion-only for this session. The board adjourned after confirming the July meeting would be canceled; the next regular meeting was set for August.