Jan 3, 2008 4:22 pm US/Pacific
Federal Court Hears SF Health Insurance Case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
A federal appeals court on Thursday weighed an emergency request from the city of San Francisco to move ahead with its new plan to provide basic health care to uninsured residents.
The hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena came a week after a federal judge in San Francisco struck down a key provision of the mandate, ruling that employers cannot be required to subsidize the ambitious program.
In doing so, the lower court sided with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which argues the mandatory contributions the city seeks place a costly burden on businesses.
On Thursday, a city lawyer said San Francisco wanted to stay the lower court's decision while it appeals because otherwise the city couldn't expand part of the program that would help insure 20,000 workers and 26,000 others.
But an attorney for the restaurant association contended that the city hadn't justified its figures.
For their part, judges on the three-member appeals panel appeared skeptical of the lower court's reasoning.
Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher implied the lower court judge may have erred in thinking the city was forcing employers to change the level of insurance benefits for workers. In fact, the city wants to change the amount paid for insurance benefits.
The lower court, Fletcher suggested, "simply misunderstands the ordinance."
The city program, Healthy San Francisco, was designed to give 82,000 uninsured city residents access to medical services at local clinics regardless of their immigration or employment status. It was launched in July with initial eligibility limited to the city's poorest residents and more than 6,500 people have signed up so far.
To offset the estimated annual price tag of $200 million, city officials passed a law requiring companies with 20 or more workers to spend at least $1.17 per hour toward each employee's health care. Those with more than 100 workers would have to pay $1.76 per hour up to a monthly maximum of $180 per worker.
Companies that already offered their workers health coverage still would have had to pay into the system if their insurance contributions did not meet the city's minimum funding levels.
The appeals panel took the issue under submission without indicating when it would rule.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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