San Mateo County takes action to reduce long trips for coastal patients seeking routine medical tests
San Mateo County, California – A routine blood draw can mean a trip across the hills for San Mateo County’s coastal residents. County supervisors now want a plan to bring lab collection closer to home, and make local care more accessible to people with commercial insurance.
The push follows an urgent care pilot that logged 1,638 appointments, with Coastside residents accounting for 82% of visits. Commercial insurance was the largest payer category, highlighting a potential gap between residents seeking nearby care and the coverage County-operated facilities accept.
The Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution sponsored by District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller directing San Mateo County Health to develop an implementation roadmap for the Coastside Health Center in Half Moon Bay. Supervisors set two deadlines: a report on local lab collection within 90 days and a plan for accepting commercial insurance within 180 days.
The vote does not immediately change services. County Health will work with the County Executive’s Office, County Attorney and other departments to prepare options for Board review.
“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,” Mueller said.
“When a lab test gets missed, a prescription can’t be safely adjusted and a small problem can become a big one.”
The roadmap must identify which commercial plans, if any, the center currently accepts, explain billing and eligibility, and locate gaps in network coverage. It must also examine potential partnerships with private providers.
For lab collection, officials must identify at least one option that could begin soon, including an operator, costs, required approvals and a launch timeline. If no option is currently feasible, the report must explain the barriers and possible solutions.
The proposed program would serve Coastside residents regardless of insurance, including those whose clinicians work outside the County system. Any changes must preserve services, appointments and financial assistance for Medi-Cal, Medicare, uninsured and underinsured patients while meeting federal Health Center Program rules.
The earlier County-funded Dignity Health pilot ran from November 2024 through May 2025, offering in-person and virtual same-day care for non-life-threatening conditions. Patients needed no existing Dignity Health relationship, and nobody was turned away because of insurance status. Dignity Health later closed its Half Moon Bay clinic on Oct. 31, 2025.
Existing County services include primary, dental, mental health and other care at the Coastside Health Center, 225 S. Cabrillo Highway, plus a weekly half day of adult primary care in Pescadero. The Mobile Clinic provides Wednesday walk-in adult care, including urgent care, at Half Moon Bay’s Ted Adcock Community Center. Street and Field Medicine teams also serve people experiencing homelessness and farmworkers.
