Ammiano’s Health Care Proposal Won’t Be Slowed By Mayor

by Casey Mills, 2006-02-02

In a well-worn move from the Newsom playbook, the Mayor issued a proposal for providing health care to uninsured San Franciscans yesterday on the eve of a hearing that could have moved Supervisor Tom Ammiano’s own plan to the full Board. While Ammiano’s plan represented more than a year of negotiations between community groups and labor representatives, Newsom’s could end up being little more than an attempt to co-opt the issue while calming the Chamber of Commerce’s concerns about the proposal. Progressives, however, are already outlining what their bottom lines will be when negotiating the details of whatever compromise gets worked out. The most important one: that Newsom’s creation of a committee to do further research does not slow the legislation’s passage.

When Tom Ammiano unveiled a plan to provide health coverage to the city’s uninsured a couple weeks ago, it quickly became one of the cause celebres of San Francisco’s political forces. Progressives lined up in support, with the San Francisco People’s Organization listing it as one of its top three issues for the year. On the other side, the Small Business Commission, the Chamber of Commerce, and SFSOS quickly declared war on it, claiming it placed too much of the burden for insuring San Franciscans on businesses.

Amidst the firestorm, Ammiano declared he’d be willing to negotiate with downtown interests to ease their concerns about the proposal, which primarily involved its cost. Despite declaring early opposition to the legislation, Newsom eventually agreed to sit down at the table. Some insiders claim former Senator John Burton helped nudge the Mayor towards this decision.

Most agree that Newsom’s willingness to negotiate should be considered a good sign, and the Mayor should be lauded for his support of providing the uninsured with health care coverage.

However, the devil remains in the details, and some health care advocates remain uneasy that the negotiations could end up being at attempt to gut the proposal - or even worse, to delay it indefinitely.

Perhaps most troubling about Newsom’s health insurance proposal involves early hints that he believes the issue needs more study rather than action. Newsom proposed convening a committee to review the legislation, then giving them 100 days to do so. Committee or no, advocates who worked on the issue say that the Mayor’s proposal should not slow down the passage of the legislation.

“We’re concerned that this is what the Chamber of Commerce wanted - a delay,” said David Grant, Director of Health Policy for Senior Action Network. “They’ll convene a committee, which could then be followed by nothing… if it needs more time, put it in statute, but pass the legislation. There’s absolutely no excuse for a significant delay.”

In addition to ensuring the legislative process continues on schedule, health care advocates are also gearing up to ensure several other vitals aspects of Ammiano’s proposal remain in the final resolution. These include keeping the health coverage employer-mandated, making sure it benefits both residents and non-residents, and keeping the quality of health care services and number of residents who will receive these services high.

“Making it employer-mandated - that’s vital,” said Senior Action Network Director Bruce Livingston. “That’s the only reason anyone came to the table. And it should provide the best care possible”

After continuing the legislation at yesterday’s Budget Committee hearing, it now appears the coming weeks will prove definitive for the proposal’s future. As Ammiano continues to negotiate, it will be up to progressives to ensure he has strong enough backing to stand tall should any bottom-line issues be severely compromised.

It’s also up to progressives to ensure that Ammiano, labor unions, and community activists - not Mayor Newsom - receive credit for working to get San Francisco’s uninsured health care coverage.

Newsom has proven in the past he’s willing to try and co-opt other people’s initiatives. He worked to wrest the issue of pot-club restrictions from Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi; he’s tried to take credit for the massive number of affordable housing units brought about at Trinity Plaza, a deal worked out by Supervisor Chris Daly, community groups, and Trinity tenants; and received credit for trying to ‘save’ the Marcus Garvey/MLK housing project despite tenants there having already negotiated with the federal government for months to work out a deal.

Newsom deserves credit for addressing the city’s health care crisis. But the fact remains: he was moved to action by the city’s progressive community.