Mental Health SF could be paid for with a new gross receipts tax on companies that pay their CEOs upward of 100 times more than the median compensation paid to employees. (Photo: Shutterstock)
A daring measure to provide mental health care to any San Francisco resident will be offered to the city's Board of Supervisors next week and to voters in November.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the offering, Mental Health SF, could be paid for with a new gross receipts tax on those companies that pay their CEOs upward of 100 times more than the median compensation paid to employees. That measure would also need voter approval, but while the mental health care plan only needs a simple majority, the tax will require a two-thirds majority to become fact.
Care would be centered around a new 24/7 treatment center, most likely to be constructed on the campus of San Francisco General Hospital, that would open by June 1, 2022. Costs aren't yet known, although, according to the Chronicle, there's been a request for Supervisor Gordon Mar to commit half the proceeds from his proposed IPO tax—also to be presented to voters in November—that, if approved, could bring in as much as $100 million to $200 million in its first two years.
According to the Chronicle, “any city resident needing mental health or substance abuse treatment could walk in and receive quick access to psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, case managers and a pharmacy. There would be an acute crisis wing with beds for those who are so ill that they can't safely be released.”
In addition, patients would be classified in one of two ways: those who have private insurance or Medi-Cal—bridge patients—who face delays in getting a psychiatrist appointment or a prescription, and core patients, who are “those newly released from jail, uninsured people or others who need longer-term care provided by the city.”
Both groups would have a “navigator” assigned to them who would help them get what they need, including dealing with bridge patients' insurers for treatment reimbursement.
At present, it's tough even for patients who seek care on their own to get it; there's no centralized waiting list, and they're on their own in trying to find the appropriate clinic or facility. And there aren't enough beds for those who need inpatient care, with patients just discharged out onto the streets even if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
