Proposal: Health Care For SF's Uninsured

June 19 - KGO (KGO) -- Unveiled by the city's mayor today, a new proposal would provide health care to San Francisco's uninsured. It would be the first of its kind in the nation, promising medical care to as many as 82,000 people.

It's an ambitious plan expected to cost nearly $200 million a year. But Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Tom Ammiano say they've found the funding that could provide health care to 82,000 uninsured residents of San Francisco.

Nastasha Drobnica works between 25 and 30 hours a week waiting tables at Rosa Pistola. She has no health care insurance because under the restaurants health plan employers working less than 28 hours must pay $500 a month for the insurance.

Nastasha Drobnica: "That's kind of my problem right now, I can't really swing that."

Some 82,000 San Franciscans share that same problem. Thousands rely on emergency room services or go without. Today San Francisco's mayor announced a plan to change that.

Mayor Gavin Newsom: "This city is going to be the first city in America with universal health access."

The plan outlined by the mayor and Supervisor Tom Ammiano provides a primary physician, preventative care, specialty care, urgent and emergency care, lab work, hospitalization, radiology and pharmaceuticals. All provided by the city's health care clinics, general and non-profit hospitals and paid for by the city with patient contributions based on a sliding scale..

If you make less than $19,000 a year, the cost is $3 dollars per month. More than $48,000 a year, the cost goes to $201 per month, which for Nastasha Drobnica would be less than half the cost of health insurance.

Nastasha Drobnica: "I would get it in a second, yeah absolutely."

Less enthusiastic is Drobnica's boss, restaurant owner Laurie Thomas, who complains her restaurant will have to pay $100,000 a year.

Laurie Thomas, Rosa Pistola: "Best case, restaurants are going to severely cut back jobs, raise prices inordinately."

The mayor who also used to own restaurants says those who aren't paying for their employees heath care need to contribute.

Mayor Gavin Newsom: "And it frankly won't effect the 85-percent of businesses that are already doing it. For those who are not doing it, they have a competitive advantage to their neighbor next door and it begs the question, is that necessarily fair?"

Thomas says fair or not, she doesn't have an extra 100-grand.

Laurie Thomas: "God bless him. I'm going to call and ask him if he wants to buy the business. Maybe that's the solution, I don't know."

Details of the business contribution need to be worked out, but the mayor stresses that $28 million from the private sector is not needed to get the plan rolling. He says health care for the uninsured will be provided by the city's community clinics, non-profit hospitals and the Department of Public Health under this new plan.

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