A recent report discovered that 80 percent of the $50 million that San Francisco businesses paid into city-required healthcare reimbursement accounts for uninsured workers in 2010 was never spent. Instead, the money was returned to employers. While the Board of Supervisors agrees that the loophole presents a problem for the city, they are unsure how to eliminate the loophole without endangering jobs or the city’s healthcare law.
Supervisor David Campos wrote the measure to close the loophole but then tabled his own legislation when the Board’s hesitancy was clear. The legislation received a 9-to-2 vote. Supervisor Campos said he is concerned that any changes that pursue a compromise with labor and business leaders could threaten the healthcare ordinance as a whole.
Other supervisors believe the ordinance would not be susceptible to legal challenges if the Board pursued a compromise. They proposed delaying the vote until Sept. 2011 to allow labor and business leaders to craft a compromise.
Read the San Francisco Chronicle report on the healthcare loophole.
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