This story is based on two articles. The first article is from today's Wall Street Journal and states that "a senior McDonald's official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain's insurer won't meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care." The second article is from Yahoo News and states that McDonalds is denying reports that it is considering dropping health care coverage for some employees because they won't meet the government requirements for spending on medical care.
The article at Yahoo News points out:
"The world's largest hamburger chain provides its hourly workers with low-cost plans known as "mini-meds" or limited benefits plans. These plans typically cover things like doctor's office visits and prescription drugs. But they don't provide comprehensive coverage, and they often come with a cap on how much the insurer pays in annual benefits that is much lower than a major medical insurance plan."
First of all, I commend McDonalds for offering any medical insurance to its hourly employees. A lot of companies can't afford to do that or simply don't do that. It would be interesting to know how many hours a week an employee has to work to obtain the insurance.
This situation shows one of the unintended (or possibly intended) consequences of Obamacare. We need to remember that corporations are in business to make money. There is no crime in that and it is not illegal. Many corporations like McDonalds donate large amounts to charities--McDonalds is the main contributor to the Ronald McDonald House. If a company wants to stay in business, it has to protect its bottom line. If the fine for not providing health insurance is considerably lower than the cost of providing it, corporations are not going to provide health insurance. That is going to force more people into government healthcare and eventually eliminate private healthcare.
The only way to stop this runaway train is to vote Republican in November--and to hold the Republicans' feet to the fire in terms of REPEAL AND REPLACE. It is quite possible that Obamacare cannot be repealed under President Obama, but it can be defunded and essentially stopped in its tracks. A vote for any Democrat is a vote for Senator Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Because Congress has gone home to campaign rather than vote to extend any of the 'Bush Tax Cuts', we are facing the largest tax increase in American history on January 1st--plus any additional taxes recommended by the deficit panel that reports to Congress and the President after the election. Either tax increase (or both) will send this country into a recession. If you think the economy is bad now, vote Democrat in November, if the Democrats win, this past year will look like a booming economy.
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