News

McDonald's Corp. asks for health care waiver

September 29, 2010

McDonald's is seeking ways to remedy what it calls an "economically prohibitive" situation with the new health care law by asking for a waiver from obtaining alternative health care coverage.

In a memo to federal regulators in the Department of Health and Human Services, the company asked for an exclusion from the stipulation that requires the chain to spend at least 80 percent of its premium revenue on medical care.

The Wall Street Journal reported that unless the waiver is granted, the company would experience difficulty continuing coverage to nearly 30,000 hourly employees.

The company currently offers "mini-med" policies, paying fees of up to $32 each week for benefits capped at as much as $10,000 annually. Hitting 80 percent, the company said, is unrealistic because of its high administrative costs from employee turnover, as well as low spending on claims.

Despite the memo, however, McDonald's spokesperson Danya Proud told Bloomberg that there is no plan to drop coverage for employees.

From the Bloomberg story:

“We’re not going to walk away from health-care insurance completely, but we’re going to have to look for alternatives if we can’t get the resolution we’re seeking from Health and Human Services,” Proud said.