Judge rules San Francisco employers don't have to subsidize city's ambitious health care plan

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has struck down a key provision of a new city program providing basic health care to uninsured residents, ruling that employers cannot be required to subsidize the ambitious plan.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ruled Wednesday that the mandate, set to take effect on Jan. 1, would violate a 1974 federal law requiring consistency in the health coverage afforded employees who work for the same company but live in different jurisdictions.

"By mandating employee health benefit structures and administration, those requirements interfere with preserving employer autonomy over whether and how to provide employee health coverage, and ensuring uniform national regulation of such coverage," White wrote.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which argued that the mandatory contributions the city sought placed a costly burden on members already struggling to make a profit.