McDonald's May Drop Health Plan (but Obama said you could keep your plan!)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703431604575522413101063070.html?KEYWORDS=mcdonald%27s ^

[macquire]

McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.

The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers' health plans as the law ripples through the real world.

Trade groups representing restaurants and retailers say low-wage employers might halt their coverage if the government doesn't loosen a requirement for "mini-med" plans, which offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans.

[eater-of-toast]

That's where Obamacare's Medicaid expansion comes in. Dems will be well pleased if McDonald's ends its health insurance and more of its workers go on single-payer government health care, which will cover more anyway. Note:

A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.

The more McDonald's workers go on Medicaid, the more will see the incentive to vote for the party of welfare benefits election after election. A big win for Dems.

[Texas Eagle]

Well, I guess all those McDonald's employees will just have to buck up.

Won't they, Joe Biden?

[motoman]

You are only partially correct.

Yes, benefits will be indicated on your W-2, but at this time, not taxed.

This can only be construed as a first step toward taxing your health care benefits at a later time. Not sure why else these evil bastards would start requiring that they be broken out on our W-2s.

[frogjerk]

McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.

LIBS: "Good! They shouldn't be working for an animal slaughtering big business anyway!"

[PeterPrinciple]

Actually, I think that might be a good thing. If we are buying it ourselves, it may affect packages/pricing offered.

As much as I HATE the whole “healthcare reform” crap, I must say that insurance companies haven’t done much to help their cause, and even got into bed with the administration with the promise of all these new subscribers. Now they will find out that you just can’t trust a bunch of liars.

---

Insurance is suppose to be state regulated, not federal regulated. If I was going to promote a solution it would be a growth in local mutual insurance companies. At one time we had a lot of these and I wonder what it would take to promote them again.

[muawiyah]

In 1966 tape was the only cure for broken ribs ~ no matter how many of them you had!

If you managed to severe one of the ligaments that hold your kneecap to your legs you were SOL. They didn't fix that stuff ~ just let it "heal naturally" and that can take years.

We also had not yet experienced the Carter Inflation ~ for many products and services that produced a 10X inflation! In 1966 the $1.25 basic care policy became a $12.50 basic care policy in 1978

[swpa_mom]

another thing that drives me crazy.........

group plans used to cover only major medical (hospital stays) and catastrophic illnesses/injuries.

Now, when you visit a doctor, the insurance picks up the majority of the bill, you pay just a copay. Oddly enough, when I was young, my family still found a way to take me to the doctors when it was needed even though someone else was paying the bill. It wasn’t in my parents budget, either. But now, the nation has become all about “gimme gimme”, few people are willing to do anything for themselves, just waiting for someone “else” to do it for them. It seems that so few are willing to make any type of sacrifice.

I dare to ask how many people who claim to not be able to “afford” health care are miraculously able to afford a cell phone, internet access or acrylic nails?

[swpa_mom]

I need to correct that to someone else was “not” paying the bill

[metmom]

bttt

[jurroppi1]

The neat little trick there is that you have to prove a life altering event in order to drop coverage. Once you have coverage, you have to keep it - been that way for a long time. I am double covered (for personal reasons it makes absolute sense for me). I tried to drop my coverage because I am covered under my wife’s plan and could not do so because of it - this was more than three years ago. I’m glad I was forced to keep it since I had two surgeries since then and several (about two dozen) other “invasive surgical procedures” that cost at least couple grand each. My co-pays would have amounted to at least 10K by now if I wasn’t double covered, which I never would’ve been able to afford. If I were to figure that in with other visit co-pays and costs, let alone migraine prescription med costs of about 140 dollars per month for a 3 day supply on top of that, I would be destitute.

It worked out in my favor, but I would much rather have been able to choose my destiny than be forced into it.

That’s been my experience - don’t know if yours will differ.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

Obama BBQ Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw4GsjcsP24

[ChurtleDawg]

he lost the electoral vote by a large enough margin that the Chicago thing really didn’t matter.

[ChurtleDawg]

That is the worst insurance plan I ever saw. $728 per year for $2000 worth of insurance coverage.

what is the point of having insurance if there is a 2000$ annual limit? that wouldn’t protect you if anything serious happened-—the kind of thing health insurance is supposed to be for in the first place.

[Revel]

I heard on the news that McDonald’s is denying this. Yet the story supposedly came from an internal memo.

I guess Obama called and threatened.

[SparkyBass]

[macquire]

“The chain has offered a limited benefits plan for more than 10 years. The current version provides outpatient, inpatient, preventive-care and prescription-drug coverage. McDonald’s says 85% of participants have less than $5,000 in medical expenses a year.”

I don’t believe there is any deductible to these plans and something is better than nothing.

[bt579]

.....>>>>That is the worst insurance plan I ever saw. $728 per year for $2000 worth of insurance coverage.<<<<<<

If you think thats bad,think again, OBAMACARE will COST MORE and COVER LESS. Hello DEATH PANELS.

[stbdside]

McHope and McChange

[topher]

I am hoping that voters will hear the message of the Obama-disasterous-health-care-plan for the November election.

I hope the GOP and TEA Party will take advantage of the announcement by McDonalds.

We need some folks with killer instincts to help take as many House/Senate seats as possible.

Stories like this we have to exploit on FreeRepublic and elsewhere to show what a disaster it has been to have Obama as president and Democratically controlled Congress...

[funfan]

Thanks for the clarification