After months of debate, a change to how hundreds of businesses must provide health benefits for employees was approved Tuesday despite sharp criticism it did not go far enough for workers. Opponents of the compromise measure passed by the Board of Supervisors vowed to take the fight to the ballot box. Read More

It’s no secret The City is a foodie capital where diners worship the people and places that produce their meals — which makes a recent rating in Zagat’s latest edition all the more perplexing. The venerable dining guide said San Franciscans are the nation’s worst tippers, at a rate of 18.6 percent. Local blogs immediately speculated the health care law surcharges are the culprit. Read More

More than 80 percent of the money that companies set aside in special funds created by The City’s landmark Healthy San Francisco health care program apparently goes back into the bosses’ pockets without benefiting workers. During a discussion Thursday about a proposal to prohibit this practice in the future, The City’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement released data indicating that 705 employers repurposed $50.1 million supposedly earmarked last year for worker health care. Read More

San Francisco’s universal health care program could shed up to 60 percent of its patients and much of its costs when federal health care reforms take effect in 2014. But city health officials say Healthy San Francisco will still be necessary because an estimated 68,400 San Franciscans will remain uninsured despite the reforms. Read More