09-30-2010, 07:36 PM
Ramification of healthcare reform is all over the news. Pelosi wasn't kidding when she said they have to pass the bill first to know what is in it. First came the 12.5% rise in employer sponsored plans. Mine has been in the 5-6% in the past but I'll soon find out. Then there are these. So much for looking after the "little" people.
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U.S. restaurants have asked the federal government to waive health overhaul rules that may force companies to abandon low-cost “mini-med” insurance plans used by 1.4 million minimum-wage and part-time employees.
McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, yesterday said it may be forced to seek alternative plans to cover 30,000 workers if it can’t get a waiver. The companies are seeking exemptions from two health-law mandates. One requires plans to spend at least 80 percent of member premiums on medical care. The other prevents companies from capping yearly coverage for each worker. Mini-med programs are designed to offer a low- cost way to cover part-time employees with limited benefits.
Without waivers, “mini-med plans would either no longer be offered or lead to a significant increase in premiums,” the National Restaurant Association wrote in an Aug. 27 letter to U.S. health officials asking that all of its members be exempted. “Restrictions found in the regulations would infringe both the spirit and the letter of the law,” the letter said.
Health insurance costs could rise as much as 500 percent for restaurants with more than 50 employees if all employees participate in a company-sponsored plan, said Todd Gordon, president of insurance broker The Benefits Group Inc.
‘Frightening Time’
“It’s a frightening time for any company with a small number of salaried employees and a large number of hourly employees,” the Atlanta-based Gordon said in a telephone interview.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-30...cmpid=yhoo
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U.S. restaurants have asked the federal government to waive health overhaul rules that may force companies to abandon low-cost “mini-med” insurance plans used by 1.4 million minimum-wage and part-time employees.
McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, yesterday said it may be forced to seek alternative plans to cover 30,000 workers if it can’t get a waiver. The companies are seeking exemptions from two health-law mandates. One requires plans to spend at least 80 percent of member premiums on medical care. The other prevents companies from capping yearly coverage for each worker. Mini-med programs are designed to offer a low- cost way to cover part-time employees with limited benefits.
Without waivers, “mini-med plans would either no longer be offered or lead to a significant increase in premiums,” the National Restaurant Association wrote in an Aug. 27 letter to U.S. health officials asking that all of its members be exempted. “Restrictions found in the regulations would infringe both the spirit and the letter of the law,” the letter said.
Health insurance costs could rise as much as 500 percent for restaurants with more than 50 employees if all employees participate in a company-sponsored plan, said Todd Gordon, president of insurance broker The Benefits Group Inc.
‘Frightening Time’
“It’s a frightening time for any company with a small number of salaried employees and a large number of hourly employees,” the Atlanta-based Gordon said in a telephone interview.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-30...cmpid=yhoo