McDonald’s ‘Mini-Med’ Health Plans Probed by Senate

[Liberal_in_LA]

McDonald’s ‘Mini-Med’ Health Plans Probed by Senate
October 01, 2010, 4:16 PM EDT

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Jay Rockefeller opened a probe into the limited benefit “mini-med” plans that McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, offers employees.

Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, asked Scott Beacham, chief executive officer of BCS Financial Corp., whether the company’s health offerings amount to a good deal for many of McDonald’s low-wage and hourly employees. Closely held BCS Financial, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, offers limited- benefit plans that cover 30,000 employees of McDonald’s, based about a mile away in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Mini-med programs are designed to offer a low-cost way to cover part-time employees with limited benefits. McDonald’s told the Obama administration it may re-evaluate the plans if it can’t get a waiver from new rules governing insurance products. The company said yesterday it will keep offering coverage, and the government has waived some of the new rules.

“The products BCS is selling to McDonald’s employees are not likely to protect them against the costs of a major health care episode,” Rockefeller said in his letter. “If this is the case, McDonald’s hourly wage workers are setting aside portions of their paychecks for an insurance product that may not be providing them a good value.”

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-01/mcdonald-s-mini-med-health-plans-probed-by-senate.html

[canoeist52]

1. "Insurance" -Where's the risk?

This is what many companies are offering employees. Limited benefit plans are a scam and are the reason my daughter can't get good state health insurance.