I do know. I work for the company that designed their benefits. Mc'Ds was about to lose coverage on about 40,000 hourly workers due to HCR. Specifically because of the annual max and minimum loss ratios.
The administration was put on notice that unless their underwriter (BCS Insurance) got a waiver, they were looking at the biggest news story of the year with 40,000 Americans losing their health insurance (that they liked by the way) almost immediately after the law was passed.
It was nothing more nefarious than HHS running interference to ward off bad press on his new law. The waiver process was created, designed, and implemented to keep the administration out the headlines week after week with poor minimum wage people that no longer had health insurance.
“It was nothing more nefarious”
What you have explained sounds pretty darned nefarious to me.