— via KCBS
Monday, 07 August 2006
San Francisco, Calif. (KCBS) — San Francisco’s mayor today signed into law the city’s Universal Health Access plan, but it is a long way from being fully implemented.
KCBS reporter Barbara Taylor at the City Hall Bureau explains the plan is complex with pricing and coverage details still to be worked out. But the idea is to offer some sort of comprehensive health care to the city’s uninsured at a low cost.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, in signing the legislation, said it could take up to three years to get the plan working. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s an exciting time. We’ve obviously, I think, changed the dialog in the state,” he said.
Nothing could cap the enthusiasm of Supervisor Tom Ammiano. “The Italians have a word “stupendo,” and this is stupendous,” he said.
The proposal is to begin offering health coverage in one year to about 15,000 participants. Others will be added as money and space become available.
Participants will pay up to $200 a month, depending on their income, plus undetermined co-payments for doctor visits and prescriptions.