Healthy San Francisco

Healthy San Francisco, a program of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, provides uninsured residents with affordable access to basic and continuing health care services. The program is available to city residents between the ages of 18-64 who are ineligible for other programs and have been uninsured for 90 days. Healthy San Francisco is not health insurance, rather it provides a primary medical home for participants. The program provides each eligible participant with a primary care physician allowing for a focus on preventive care, as well as access to specialty and inpatient care, diagnostic services, mental health services, and prescription drugs. Enrollees pay a monthly sliding scale premium based upon their income; those below the federal poverty level pay no premium. The program costs the city $280 per enrollee per month, and is funded through city and state funds, patient fees, and mandatory employer contributions.

The goal of Healthy San Francisco is to make health care services accessible to San Francisco's uninsured population.

Healthy San Francisco has enrolled 59,698 uninsured participants and identified 5,200 residents eligible for public health insurance. The medical home network has expanded to include 30 public and private providers. The focus on coordinated and preventative care has resulted in better control of chronic conditions; hospital admissions have dropped sharply and the number of days spent in the hospital by enrollees has nearly halved. Most participants (94%) are satisfied with the program overall and a large majority (86%) report having a regular source of care. Nearly all indicate that their health needs are being met and four in ten cite an improvement since joining Healthy San Francisco.