Many of the Americans newly eligible for premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the ACA struggle to afford their deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses. As a result, some have not signed up for coverage while others have avoided or delayed seeking necessary care.

Affordability of health coverage and care is a particular challenge in San Francisco, one of the nation’s costliest places to live. Since 2007, SF’s Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) has required certain employers to make health care expenditures on behalf of their employees. In 2014, San Francisco leaders sought to adapt the program to reflect the new reality that many employees who were beneficiaries of the HCSO had become eligible for subsidized coverage through Covered California, the state’s marketplace for individual coverage.

With funding from CHCF, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) commissioned a report on options and recommendations for a public benefit program to support the affordable purchase of health insurance for San Franciscans whose employers make health care expenditures under the HCSO.

During this webinar, Health Management Associates (HMA) and the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education (Labor Center) presented and discussed their findings as part of an expert panel with:

• Aneeka Chaudhry, senior health program planner, SFDPH
• Colleen Chawla, deputy director of health / director of policy and planning, SFDPH
• Donna Laverdiere, senior consultant, HMA
• Laurel Lucia, manager, Health Care Program, UC Berkeley Labor Center
• Don Novo, principal, HMA
• Chris Perrone, director, Improving Access, CHCF

Read the full HMA report, Addressing Affordability of Health Insurance in San Francisco (PDF), on the SFDPH website.

A recording of the webinar and the presentation slides are available below: