Committee forwards Campos' bill to close HCSO "use-it-or-lose-it" loophole to full Board

SAN FRANCISCO — The Board of Supervisors’ Government Audit and Oversight Committee voted Friday to send Supervisor David Campos’ proposal to the full Board after hours of testimony from workers, labor leaders and business owners about how Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) are being used under the city’s Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO).

Supervisor David Campos, who introduced the ordinance change, told the committee the measure is aimed at ensuring money that consumers are asked to pay for workers’ health care actually reaches those workers. “Childbirth, dollars 16,000,” Campos said, noting that workers who can accumulate only about $4,000 in some accounts remain unable to pay for even routine procedures. Campos said a small minority of employers use HRAs in ways that deny workers access and that consumer surcharges sometimes do not fund employee care.

Why it matters: Supporters — including labor unions, legal aid groups and health advocates — said allowing HRA funds to roll over year to year would…