Saturday, November 21, 2009

Health Fee

The wife and I had lunch in San Francisco the other day, at Pier 39’s Fog Harbor Restaurant.

At the conclusion of the meal, when Greg the waiter brought us the bill, I noticed a line item that piqued my interest:

“SF Health Fee 3.5%,” it said.

“What’s a health fee?” I queried out loud to no one in particular. Greg heard me and offered an explanation of what it was.

San Francisco is the only city in the US that has a “health fee.” All San Francisco businesses with 20 or more employees must put 3.5% of its sales into a universal health fund. The money in the pool is then used to reimburse San Francisco residents who work in the city, for their health care.

I didn’t have to pay it, Greg said, but they have to put it on the bill to show the sales and health fee totals.

Well … who am I to deny anyone health care. Besides, it was only $1.29.

I’m such a nice guy.

1 comment:

Beverly said...

This is the most interesting thing I've read in a long time, 'cept for my posts over on FB. LOL.