Evaluation of San Francisco City Option Medical Reimbursement Account Program

The San Francisco City Option’s medical reimbursement account (MRA) program reimburses eligible expenses to make healthcare affordable for employees who live in and around San Francisco. This innovative program mandates San Francisco employers to contribute funds on behalf of their eligible employees to the SF City Option program.

In this first evaluation of the program since its inception, AIR will identify challenges and solutions to employee enrollment in and utilization of SF MRA benefits by using a mixed-methods approach, which includes both quantitative and qualitative data collection at the employer and employee level. Our approach includes analyzing SF City Option’s MRA enrollment and administrative data; conducting employee focus groups and key informant interviews; developing an employee questionnaire; and surveying employers that contribute to SF City Option on behalf of their employees.

The evaluation will help the SF City Option program gain a better understanding of who participates, how to increase consumers’ awareness of their benefits, and how to help consumers access benefits.