Can universal health-care coverage be provided in San Mateo County? A blue ribbon committee created last week by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors has the task of answering that question.
“As I think we are all so painfully aware, the health-care delivery system in this nation is broken and more specifically, and closer to home, the health-care delivery system for the indigent and uninsured in San Mateo County is a broken system that is unstable and unsupportable,” said Supervisor Jerry Hill.
The San Mateo Medical Center, for example, faces a $65 million deficit, said County Manager John Maltbie.
Since 2000, the general fund subsidy of the medical center has increased by 46 percent. Mr. Maltbie said if this trend continues, by 2014 the center will consume over 60 percent of the general fund property tax revenues, which help finance the county’s criminal justice services, municipal services in unincorporated areas, child welfare services and other key county services.
At the urging of Mr. Hill, the supervisors unanimously approved the creation of a Blue Ribbon Committee for Adult Health Insurance Coverage Expansion. The decision was made during a public hearing on the county budget.
Over a one-year period the committee will work to determine if and how universal healthcare can be established in the county.
The supervisors set aside $200,000 for consultants to help the committee.
“I believe it is this board’s duty to take the lead in initiating this ambitious effort,” Mr. Hill said. “The results may mean a reallocation of resources and potential savings for both the county and other health-care providers.”
The committee would be made up of leaders from the Health Plan of San Mateo, Hospital Consortium of San Mateo, Peninsula Interfaith Action, Health Department, Peninsula Health Care District, Sequoia Health Care District, Ravenswood Family Health Center, Kaiser Permanente and several county officials, according to a report drafted by Mr. Hill.
One of the committee’s tools will be the county’s WELL Pilot Study, which tracks the impacts health-care coverage eligibility and screening requirements have on residents at or below 400 percent of the Federal poverty level.
— Bay City News Service
