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In a bold experiment, San Francisco moved a pace closer this week to accomplishing what no metropolis has done before: offering complete healthcare services to all uninsured residents.

The Board of Supervisors does not plan to offer common insurance, but it will expand access to San Francisco's public health system to residents who lack coverage.

The proposed Health Access Plan, planned for a final vote next week, will offer preventive, primary and emergency care by hospitals and county- and community-run clinics in the city.

With the number of uninsured Americans expected at 46 million, healthcare experts described the proposal as a pioneering local attempt to address a growing national crisis.

"This is an example of a city stepping forward saying, We're going to get our hands around this problem and do the right thing," said Dr. Kevin Grumbach, a UC San Francisco professor and chairman of the department of family and community medicine.

"It is possible to achieve universal healthcare. If it doesn't start nationally, it'll have to start city by city," said Grumbach, who served on a mayoral committee that planned details of the plan.