Universal Health Care in San Francisco?

San Francisco is about to go where no other place in America has ever gone: universal health care. There is a truly a health care insurance crisis in this country, and it’s great to see the mayor of a large American city finally trying to address it.

Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to enact a universal health insurance policy for the uninsured residents of his city—and presidential candidates in 2008 will have no choice but to take notice and take seriously the issue of health insurance for the upcoming election. Newsom’s plan won’t be free to residents, but it will mean incredibly reduced prices for health care for those without insurance currently. If you live in San Francisco, the price of enrollment will be anywhere from $3 to $201 depending on your income.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle facing many Americans without health insurance is the notion of insurance companies not accepting you if you have preexisting conditions. Newsom’s plan called “San Francisco Health Access Plan” will allow you to be covered for life-threatening illnesses and diseases even if you have them in a preexisting form. The city is going to pay for the program—some $203 million a year.

If Newsom gets this plan enacted, presidential candidates will be under greater pressure than ever to come up with a realistic plan to provide universal health care nationwide—or at least to come up with a way to promote such plans at state levels.