Holy crap, those damn hippies are at it again: San Francisco unveils a universal health plan for residents. According to the Washington Post,
The city would offer health care to any adult resident, regardless of immigration or employment status, under a plan announced Tuesday.
The plan, which still needs be approved by the city’s Board of Supervisors, is aimed at 82,000 uninsured residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, said Mayor Gavin Newsom. San Francisco already provides universal health care for children.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, appears with Sandra R. Hernandez, CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, during a news conference, Tuesday, June 20, 2006, in San Francisco. Newsom and other officials unveiled a plan to make San Francisco the first city in the nation to provide health care to all residents. The plan aimed at 85,000 San Franciscans who earn too much to qualify for federally subsidized health care would offer basic preventive care and treatment for catastrophic illnesses. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, appears with Sandra R. Hernandez, CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, during a news conference, Tuesday, June 20, 2006, in San Francisco. Newsom and other officials unveiled a plan to make San Francisco the first city in the nation to provide health care to all residents. The plan aimed at 85,000 San Franciscans who earn too much to qualify for federally subsidized health care would offer basic preventive care and treatment for catastrophic illnesses.“Rather than lamenting about the fact that we live in a country with 45.8 million Americans that don’t have health insurance … San Francisco is doing something about it,” Newsom said. “San Francisco is moving forward to fulfill its moral obligation.”
This is really awesome. What I would like to see is S.F. release the amount its public hospitals lose every year treating the uninsured – I bet it’ll be much, much more than the proposed $200 million a year this will be costing the city.
And as for the businesses complaining this will put them out of business; you know what? If you can’t afford to treat your employees humanely, and you can’t afford to contribute a whopping $1.60 an hour per employee to guarantee health care for everyone…you have a failed business model and shouldn’t be in business in the first place.