SF Frees Up $138 Million For 100,000+ For Food, Rent & Utilities
Mayor London Breed Announces Plan to Free Up $138 Million to Support Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
$138 million from SF City Option Medical Reimbursement Accounts will become available for over 100,000 San Francisco employees to use for food, rent, utilities, and other basic needs
Mayor London N. Breed today announced a plan to allow employees in San Francisco to use funds their employer has contributed in compliance with the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) for necessary expenses such as food, rent, and utilities during the declared local emergency, in addition to eligible health care expenses.
Mayor Breed’s Supplemental Declaration will allow over 100,000 covered employees to access funding that their employer has contributed to Medical Reimbursement Accounts (MRAs). The MRAs, provided under the San Francisco City Option, currently have $138 million in available funds, which is an average of $1,300 per covered employee. The MRAs are normally designated for medical expenses and health care needs, however during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to provide people with additional resources so they can afford necessities and remain healthy.
The Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) is a San Francisco law that established several employer health care-related obligations enforced by the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. HCSO created a Health Access Program, including Healthy San Francisco and MRAs, administered by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
What is SF’s Health Care Security Ordinance?
Under HCSO, businesses with 20 or more employees and nonprofits with 50 employees or more in San Francisco make health care expenditures including contributions to Medical Reimbursement Accounts, which their employees can access for eligible medical expenses. The City Option employer-funded MRAs have a balance of $138 million for 104,000 employees, or an average of $1,300 per eligible employee.
Over half of the employees with MRAs are San Francisco residents and 80 percent are from the Bay Area. The SF City Option covers a wide range of San Francisco employees, including employees in the retail, accommodation, and food service sectors.
Mayor Breed’s Supplemental Declaration allows employees to withdraw funding from their MRAs for basic expenses including food, rent and mortgage payments, and utilities during the declared local emergency. The funding will continue to cover eligible medical expenses. Approximately 104,000 covered employees of San Francisco businesses and nonprofits that have MRAs will be able to request a one-time disbursement of their available funds. Employees can find the most updated information on the San Francisco City Option website (www.sfcityoption.org) about the disbursement.
The SF City Option program will contact eligible employees with MRAs about how to withdraw funds. Employees should always be cautious with their personal or financial information. Individuals should also consult a tax professional about the use of funds. The SF City Option program will never email or call any SF City Option employee to request their Social Security Number or banking information. Employees who wish to verify if they have an MRA can also call SF City Option Customer Service at (877) 772-0415.
The HCSO, along with all other San Francisco labor laws, remains in full effect during the local emergency. Mayor Breed issued this order as part of a Supplement to the Local Emergency Declaration she made on February 25th. All Supplemental Declarations are available at https://sfmayor.org/mayoral-declarations-regarding-covid-19.
