San Francisco is the first city in the US to offer a health plan for its uninsured citizens. The plan, called “Healthy San Francisco,” was launched two years ago and has received high marks in independent studies. Currently, three-quarters of San Francisco’s uninsured adults have enrolled in the program which guarantees access to medical services. “Healthy San Francisco is not insurance,” and doesn’t function outside of the city limits. But ”any uninsured adult who lives in San Francisco and earns up to 500% of the federal poverty level annually is eligible. … Patients must pick a medical home out of a network of more than 30 public and private clinics, physician groups and hospitals within the city limits. The idea is that patients get consistent care and the system avoids duplicating services. … Preventative services, care for illness and chronic conditions, hospital stays and prescriptions are all covered.” The funding for the program comes from public funds as well as an employer mandate. Restaurants and businesses may also contribute to the fund by way of an additional “fee” added to their patron’s bills. [Los Angeles Times via Kaiser Health News]
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Tags: health, Health Care, insurance, medical home, public option, san francisco, uninsured
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
I had a total hysterectomy on 6/22/09. I thought I was recovering well until 10/3/09 when my husband and I were having sex. Nothing earth shaking, (kids asleep in next room), We were finishing up when I statred experiencing severe pain starting in my pelvic area and traveling up to my rib cage. I felt like my parts were falling out and come to find out they were. By the time I got to the ER which wasn’t long by ambulance, the doctor checked me and my cuff where they sewed my vagina shut had come open and my bowels were coming out. I went straight to surgery and was lucky they went back through my laproscopic incisions, tilted me to put things back in place and sewed my cuff back together. Now I am going through recovery again. I am very depressed and angry by this. If one surgery was not enough. I am taking loads of antibiotics to make sure if don’t get an infection which makes me so nauseated I can barely eat. I am really wondering why this happened (poorly suturing or poor suture materail or what. I go back to doctor tomorrow to see how things are. Has anyone had this problem before and are they willing to share with me? Like I said I’m very upset and don’y know who to blame or what to feel. Please help, any advice is greatly appreciated.