When Congress and the White House were insisting their government health care plan would be cheaper, they were the only ones who believed it.
Now it will be much more expensive - for employees. Trade groups for restaurants and retailers say their employers might halt coverage if the government doesn't loosen the requirement for "mini-med" plans, which offer limited benefits to some 1.4 million Americans. That means McDonald's, which has pretty good health benefits for low income earners, could be priced out of a good plan, forcing those people into government health care.
As in science, if the government wants to pay for it, private sector corporations will avoid the government paperwork and hassle and let them. But it won't be cheap.
The Wall Street Journal writes:
Insurers say dozens of other employers could find themselves in the same situation as McDonald's. Aetna Inc., one of the largest sellers of mini-med plans, provides the plans to Home Depot Inc., Disney Worldwide Services, CVS Caremark Corp., Staples Inc. and Blockbuster Inc., among others, according to an Aetna client list obtained by the Journal.
McDonald's says the WSJ report is false and is
committed to providing competitive pay and benefits regardless of how regulations evolve over the next several months.
