San Francisco thinks Obamacare can cut costs, crime rates

Across the country, an estimated 90 percent of those in county jails don't have health insurance. About the same number would qualify for subsidized health-care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. And those prisoners are more susceptible to chronic illnesses that, without treatment once they are freed, cost millions in emergency room visits. Now, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department thinks it can help cut costs — and reduce recidivism rates — by signing up many of the 31,000 people it books in jail every year for coverage under Obamacare.