RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION SUPPORT OF SB 458 (SPEIER), BASIC HEALTHCARE COUNTIES

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, under Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, counties are required to provide health care to the medically indigent, those who lack the resources to provide their own healthcare and are ineligible for existing subsidized healthcare services such as Medi-Cal, Healthy Families and Healthy Kids; and

WHEREAS, SB 2 (Burton, 2003), a recent effort to expand health care coverage to more medically indigent was rejected by referendum in Proposition 72 in November 2004; and

WHEREAS, the Health Plan of San Mateo is involved in several insurance programs including Medi-Cal, the state Healthy Families and San Mateo County’s Healthy Kids programs and HealthWorx which provides health insurance for the County’s In Home Support Services (IHSS) workers; and

WHEREAS, SB 458 (Speier) permits county organized health systems like the Health Plan of San Mateo, to offer, in addition to their current services, health coverage paid from private sources; and

WHEREAS, SB 458 (Speier) by providing counties and other communities additional flexibility in creating affordable health care options conforms to San Mateo County’s longstanding position regarding increased local flexibility

WHEREAS, any steps to expand health care coverage can have the effect of reducing demand on the local safety net and public hospital services;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors by adoption of this resolution does hereby support SB 458 (Speier) regarding basic healthcare counties.

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