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PRESS RELEASE and CONSENT AGENDA. Press Release from San Mateo County Executive’s Office on November 3rd, 2026. Agenda from From the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors regular meeting on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 at 9:00am, as a hybrid meeting with remote comment. Staff Report for Item #11. The Item was moved to Consent which was agreed to without discussion.
PRESS RELEASE. Roadmap due within 90 days would address travel to the Bayside for routine care and blood draws
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed San Mateo County Health to offer a roadmap to let the Coastside Health Center in Half Moon Bay accept commercial health insurance and to create a local lab collection program for Coastside residents.
The resolution, sponsored by District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller, was adopted on the Board’s consent agenda. During the meeting, the Board adjusted the implementation timeline: County Health will return to the Board of Supervisors within 90 days on the lab collection program and within 180 days for the process for accepting commercial insurance for health care.
Today’s action responds to a long-standing concern on the coast. Many residents must travel to the Bayside for routine blood draws, diagnostic tests, medication-related lab monitoring and follow-up appointments.
“Seniors, residents with access and functional needs, and families who live and work on the Coast shouldn’t have to live isolated from routine preventive health care and accessible urgent care,” said Mueller, whose district includes the San Mateo County coast. “When a lab test gets missed, a prescription can’t be safely adjusted and a small problem can become a big one.”
The resolution does not change services at the center. It directs County Health to work with the County Executive’s Office, the County Attorney and other County departments on an implementation roadmap, which the Board will review.
The roadmap must:
- Explain what it would take to accept commercial insurance at the center and offer local lab collection, including possible partnerships with private providers.
- Show which commercial plans, if any, the center accepts now, how it bills, who is eligible for care and where in-network gaps remain.
- Name at least one lab option that could start soon, who would run it, what it would cost, what approvals it needs and when it could begin. If none is possible now, explain what stands in the way and how to fix it.
- Show how to make these changes without cutting services, appointments or financial help for patients who have Medi-Cal, Medicare, little insurance or none, while meeting federal Health Center Program rules.
The lab program would be open to Coastside residents regardless of insurance type, including patients whose clinicians practice outside the County health system.
“County Health shares the goal of improving timely access to care for Coastside residents and throughout San Mateo County,” said San Mateo County Health Chief Colleen Chawla. “We will provide the Board with a clear roadmap of feasible options and the considerations associated with each. Our work will focus on expanding access for insured Coastside residents while protecting access to existing services for Medi-Cal, Medicare, uninsured, and underinsured patients.”
The action builds on a County-funded urgent care pilot in Half Moon Bay, launched by Dignity Health, which ran from Nov. 2024, through May 2025. It offered in-person and virtual same-day care for non-life-threatening problems. Patients didn’t need to be Dignity Health patients, and no one was turned away because of their insurance status.
The pilot recorded 1,638 appointments, and 82% involved Coastside residents. Commercial insurance was the largest payer category, followed by Medi-Cal and Medicare.
Those results suggest that many Coastside residents seeking local care have private insurance and may not be able to use County-operated services unless their plan is accepted, according to the resolution.
Dignity Health closed its Half Moon Bay clinic on Oct. 31, 2025.
County Health provides many types of care on the coast. The Coastside Health Center, at 225 S. Cabrillo Highway in Half Moon Bay, is part of County Health’s San Mateo Medical Center. The Coastside facility offers primary care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured adults, teens and children, family planning, women’s health, mental health services and dental care, along with access to other social service programs. It also provides a half day of adult primary care in Pescadero each week.
County Health’s Mobile Clinic offers walk-in care for adults, including urgent care, on Wednesdays at the Ted Adcock Community Center in Half Moon Bay. Its Street and Field Medicine teams bring care to people experiencing homelessness and to farmworkers, working with partners including Puente, ALAS and LifeMoves.
About San Mateo County
Established in 1856, the County of San Mateo stretches from the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay and includes 20 cities and rural communities. Home to more than 750,000 residents, it is one of California’s most diverse counties with an economy driven by innovation, life sciences, agriculture and international trade and travel. In addition to serving unincorporated communities, the County provides countywide services that support the health, safety and quality of life of residents. Learn more at smcgov.org.
More on the Dignity Health Pilot on Coastside Buzz
Staff Report for Item #11
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Ray Mueller, District 3
Subject: Direction to San Mateo County Health to Accept Private Health Insurance at the Coastside Clinic
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution directing San Mateo County Health, in consultation with the County Executive’s Office, County Attorney, and other appropriate County departments, to within 90 days prepare an implementation roadmap to:
A) Enable the Coastside Health Center to contract with and accept commercial health insurance plans, including potential partnerships with private healthcare providers, while maintaining access for Medi-Cal, Medicare, uninsured, and underinsured patients; and
B) Provide for a local laboratory specimen collection program accessible to Coastside residents regardless of insurance type, including patients whose treating clinicians practice outside the County health system.
BACKGROUND
Reliable, timely access to healthcare and laboratory services remains a significant concern for Coastside residents. Many residents currently must travel to the Bayside for routine blood draws, diagnostic testing, medication-related laboratory monitoring, follow-up appointments, and other healthcare services.
This travel requirement creates a substantial access barrier, particularly for older adults, persons with disabilities, residents without personal vehicles, and individuals who rely on public transit, paratransit, shuttle services, family members, or caregivers for transportation. Traffic congestion and weather-related conditions on Highways 1, 92, and 84 may further delay or prevent access to necessary medical services. These barriers can be particularly consequential for individuals managing chronic medical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, thyroid disorders, anticoagulation needs, and other conditions requiring periodic laboratory monitoring to guide treatment decisions and support safe medication prescribing, continuation, or adjustment.
The County has taken important steps to improve local healthcare access. In 2024, the County funded a urgent healthcare pilot in Half Moon Bay following the closure of the Seton Coast emergency room (Pilot). The Pilot operated from October 30, 2024, through April 14, 2025, with appointments continuing through June 2025.
The Pilot served Coastside residents, visitors requiring urgent care, and patients across insurance statuses, including uninsured and underinsured patients, none of whom were required to meet Dignity Health patient eligibility criteria. The Pilot recorded 1,638 appointments, and Coastside residents represented 82% (1,338) of patients served. Importantly, usage of the pilot services increased over this. Patients were treated for a range of common clinical conditions, including upper respiratory infections, musculoskeletal strains and sprains, rashes, hypertension and diabetes management.
The Pilot’s payer mix consisted primarily commercial insurance, including Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare, followed by the Health Plan of San Mateo, Medicare, and Kaiser. This experience indicates that a meaningful portion of Coastside residents seeking timely local care are covered by private insurance and may be unable to use County-operated services unless their health plan is accepted.
The Pilot also underscored the importance of clear clinical pathways when patients require emergency, trauma, specialty, or other higher-acuity services that cannot be safely or appropriately provided in an urgent-care or outpatient clinic setting.
Community feedback indicates an ongoing need for accessible local medical examinations, preventive care, regular checkups, bloodwork, and other routine laboratory testing.
For many patients, timely laboratory testing is medically necessary to monitor disease progression, identify complications, assess treatment effectiveness, support preventive care, and safely prescribe, renew, or adjust medications. Delayed or missed testing may contribute to avoidable gaps in care, delayed clinical decision-making, unnecessary urgent-care or emergency-department utilization, and poorer health outcomes.
Recent discussions concerning private-sector laboratory access on the Coastside have not provided sufficient assurance that dependable and sustained laboratory services will be available locally.
On September 23, 2026, the Midcoast Community Council submitted a letter supporting expanded acceptance of commercial insurance at the Coastside Health Center. (A copy of the letter is attached to this memorandum and incorporated by this reference.) The letter noted that expanding the Health Center’s payer options could improve local health care access, reduce transportation barriers, and provide greater flexibility for Coastside residents seeking timely, in-network care.
DISCUSSION
The proposed resolution directs San Mateo County Health, in consultation with the County Executive’s Office, County Attorney, and other appropriate County departments, to within 90 days prepare an implementation roadmap to:
1. Enable the Coastside Health Center to contract with and accept commercial health insurance plans, including potential partnerships with private healthcare providers, while maintaining access for Medi-Cal, Medicare, uninsured, and underinsured patients; and
2. Provide for a local laboratory specimen collection program accessible to Coastside residents regardless of insurance type, including patients whose treating clinicians practice outside the County health system.
The roadmap should, at minimum:
• Provide the operational, clinical, financial, and legal framework for expanding commercial insurance participation at the Coastside Health Center, including potential contracting or partnerships, and of establishing local laboratory specimen collection and related laboratory access
• Identify a responsible approach to improving access to primary and preventive health care, chronic disease monitoring, diagnostic testing, and laboratory services for Coastside residents; and
• Identify the Coastside Health Center’s current commercial payer participation, billing arrangements, patient eligibility requirements, and gaps in in-network access; and
• Identify at least one feasible near-term laboratory access option, the responsible implementing entity, estimated start-up and ongoing costs, required approvals, anticipated implementation timeline, and any actions requiring subsequent Board authorization; and, if no option is currently feasible, the roadmap shall identify the specific barriers and steps necessary to resolve them; and
• Outline how implementation can be achieved without diminishing existing services, appointment availability, or financial assistance for Medi-Cal, Medicare, uninsured, and underinsured patients, including applicable Health Center Program requirements.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Improving Coastside access to routine healthcare and laboratory services could reduce avoidable travel across the County, lessen transportation burdens, promote continuity of care, and support earlier clinical intervention for residents who require regular testing, monitoring, or follow-up.
The potential benefits are especially significant for older adults, persons with disabilities, residents with chronic medical needs, individuals without reliable transportation, and patients who depend on family members, caregivers, public transit, paratransit, or shuttle services. Improved access to local laboratory services is necessary to assist patients in completing recommended monitoring for chronic conditions, receive timely medication management, and maintain regular engagement with their healthcare providers.
Expanded commercial insurance participation at the Coastside Health Center will materially expand access for residents with commercial coverage and reduce delays associated with seeking in-network care outside the Coastside. A local in-network option will also help to improve access to preventive services, non-emergency medical evaluation, chronic disease management, laboratory testing, and follow-up care.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors (BoS) Agendas
The Supervisors meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 9:00am, as a hybrid meeting.
Author: mdrag
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