# Are there any cities (or counties) other than San Francisco that offer a health insurance plan **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954 "2018-10-15T01:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954/1 "2018-10-15T01:05:32Z")
We have health insurance plans on the state and federal level of the United States like medicare, medicaid, the ACA, etc. But San Francisco has a plan called the healthy san francisco plan. It covers health insurance for people living under 500% of the federal poverty line. Are there other cities or counties with plans like this? I believe Anthony Weiner discussed a single payer plan for NYC, but do other cities or counties have a plan like the San Francisco plan? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954/2 "2018-10-15T02:39:08Z")
New York has a program called Child Health Plus which provides subsidized care to children who are otherwise not eligible for Medicaid. The premiums are free for families making up to 1.6x the federal poverty line. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954/3 "2018-10-16T16:11:50Z")
What does “living under 500% of the federal poverty line” mean? How little does a family have to be making to qualify? And if they are making that little how can they afford to live in SF? Are we talking about the homeless population there? ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954/4 "2018-10-16T17:43:55Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > What does “living under 500% of the federal poverty line” mean? How little does a family have to be making to qualify? And if they are making that little how can they afford to live in SF? Are we talking about the homeless population there? It depends on what they are qualifying for - housing or healthcare. > **[Poverty in San Francisco | City Performance Scorecards](https://sfgov.org/scorecards/safety-net/poverty-san-francisco)** > > Citywide An estimated 10 percent of San Francisco residents were in poverty in 2019. Older residents (those 65 and over) are more likely to be in poverty than other age groups. Poverty rates also vary by race and ethnicity; most notably, Black and... > [@](#): > > The poverty guidelines are sometimes referred to as the “federal poverty level” or the “poverty line,” but these terms can be misleading because there are many potential meanings. The “San Francisco poverty line” may refer to the federal poverty guidelines, or to local income limits for eligibility in housing programs supported by the SF Housing Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These limits are based on the area’s median income (AMI), unlike the thresholds and guidelines. For example, HUD defined “Low Income Limits” in San Francisco as $82,200 for an individual and $117,400 for a family of four in 2018, based on 80% of the area’s median income. However, the federal poverty guidelines in 2018 were only $12,140 for an individual and $25,100 for a family of four. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-cities-or-counties-other-than-san-francisco-that-offer-a-health-insurance-plan/822954/5 "2018-10-16T23:01:46Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > What does “living under 500% of the federal poverty line” mean? How little does a family have to be making to qualify? And if they are making that little how can they afford to live in SF? Are we talking about the homeless population there? > **[Fees - Healthy San Francisco](https://healthysanfrancisco.org/visitors/fees/)** > > PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMS Scammers are getting more sophisticated in their efforts to get your money or private information. Be alert and protect yourself from being scammed, and know the following: Healthy San Francisco program will never call and... A family of 4 can make up to $10,459 a month to be under 500% of the federal poverty line.