Universal Health Access and Closer Ties with China Top Agenda at Ethnic Media Briefing

San Francisco already offers a health care plan called “Healthy Family, Healthy Kids” that provides health care access to young people up to age 24, Newsom said. But his new plan aims to provide universal access that emphasizes preventative care. Money from government, employer, and patient co-payment will fund the plan.

The mayor also talked with great enthusiasm about the lessons he learned on his recent trip to China – his first to Asia.

Thanks to San Francisco’s historic status as “The Gold Mountain,” Newsom said he gained access to Chinese leaders that even Gov. Schwarzenegger failed to meet.

In late November last year, Newsom visited Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong with a delegation that included Sen. Diane Feinstein. Newsom met with top government officials, most notably former President Jiang Zemin.

Asked about concrete benefits that resulted from his trip, the mayor said his trip secured links between bio-technology work in San Francisco and China, as well as more symbolic gestures. He referred to the 25-year-old sister city relationship of San Francisco and Shanghai, which declared San Francisco as the “Gateway City” to the Far East.

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