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San Francisco Asks Court to Reject Case Challenging Health Care Effort

Excerpt: On Monday, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the Golden Gate Restaurant Association's challenge of a Healthy San Francisco provision requiring employers to contribute to workers' health care coverage, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Knight, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/25).

San Francisco Pushes Legislation to Promote Good Health

Excerpt: Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to make the city the first in the country to ban the sale of cigarettes in pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid. And that's only the city's latest effort to make us all healthier. The supervisors also voted to require chain restaurants to post nutritional information, including calories and fat content, on menus.

San Francisco Chamber Girds for Health Care Fight on Proposal to Require Benefits

Excerpt: The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is solidifying opposition to pending legislation that would require companies and nonprofit groups with 20 or more employees to provide health benefits for their workers.

Obama Administration Remains Quiet on San Francisco Health Plan

Excerpt: In contrast to President George W. Bush's Labor Department, which unsuccessfully urged a federal appeals court to overturn the groundbreaking law, the new administration submitted no arguments before the July 10 deadline for briefs supporting or opposing Supreme Court review. President Obama, meanwhile, has praised the San Francisco program, the first of its kind in the nation, while pressing Congress to enact comprehensive health coverage.

Supreme Court Asked to Decide Legality of San Francisco Health Care Rule

Excerpt: The Golden Gate Restaurant Association filed a petition v on Monday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to make the final decision on whether San Francisco's mandate that employers pay for health care coverage is legal. The city's first-of-its-kind universal health care program, dubbed Healthy San Francisco, began two years ago and requires that employers with at least 20 employees provide health insurance, set up health care spending accounts or pay into the city's fund.

Step Onto the Cable Car and Deposit $13,487 for San Francisco's Retiree Health Care

"To cover the gap [in pension funding for San Francisco city workers], each household in the city would have to fork over $1,677.... But when it comes to retiree health care costs, it's another story. San Francisco has saved less than one percent of its $4.4 billion tab -- and each household would have to pay $13,487 to make up the difference."

San Francisco Judge Rules California Compensation Insurance Fund Furloughs Illegal

Excerpt: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger illegally furloughed 7,400 employees of the State Compensation Insurance Fund this year, a San Francisco judge ruled Tuesday in a case that may help workers in other state agencies challenge their unpaid leaves. Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard affirmed a tentative ruling she had issued Monday that the governor had no authority to cut the staff of the insurance fund. The fund, based in San Francisco, sells workers' compensation insurance to employers and uses the proceeds to run its operations, with no support from the state treasury. Woolard's tentative decision came in a suit by the Service Employees International Union, which represents the fund's nearly 6,300 clerical workers, claims adjusters and support staff. She granted the fund's request Tuesday to extend the ruling to another 1,100 employees not represented by the union. Schwarzenegger will appeal the ruling, said spokesman Mike Naple.

Obama Administration Sides with City in San Francisco Health Coverage Law Lawsuit

Excerpt: San Francisco Chronicle: 'The Obama administration took San Francisco's side Friday in a legal dispute over the city's groundbreaking health coverage law, urging the Supreme Court to reject an appeal by restaurant owners who objected to paying part of the cost. In a long-awaited filing, government lawyers said passage of national health insurance legislation 'has dramatically changed the landscape' and reduced the likelihood that cities and states would adopt laws like San Francisco's.

San Francisco Initiative Aimed at Universal Care Signs Up Its First Applicants

Excerpt: Healthy San Francisco is estimated to cost $200 million a year and will be paid for through a mix of public funds, participants' premiums and co-payments and employer contributions. The city is mandating that employers who don't currently offer health insurance to their employees contribute to Healthy San Francisco starting Jan. 1.

'Healthy San Francisco' Law Clears Supreme Court Hurdle

Excerpt: After four years, San Francisco on Monday won its legal battle to provide health care for all its residents when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a business group's challenge to the Healthy San Francisco program.