No More Health Waivers Like McDonald's Received, U.S. Says

[cawacko]

Figured this subject would get a good debate going between Superfreak and Dungheap.


No More Health Waivers Like McDonald's Received, U.S. Says


A program that allows McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant chain, and the insurer Cigna Corp. to avoid providing the minimum health coverage mandated by last year's overhaul will stop accepting applicants in September, the government said today.

Companies that already have exemptions from the mandate will be able to continue their "mini-med" health plans with annual maximum coverage of $10,000. The health-care overhaul signed last year by President Barack Obama raised the minimum coverage level to $750,000 for those who weren't granted the waivers.

The government is closing down the program because there's no need for new applications, Steve Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said during a call with reporters. "For the vast majority of plans that would need a waiver, those are the ones that would have applied and did apply this year," said Larsen, whose office is implementing the law's regulations on health insurers.

The waivers were granted over nine months to 3 million workers in 1,433 organizations. Companies that have the exemptions will be able to keep them until 2014, when "exchanges" to sell government-subsidized private coverage open.

Companies with the waivers will have to give their workers written notices on exactly how their coverage works, how much care it covers, and what happens to them if they go to the hospital, Larsen said.

Retailers, labor unions and state and local governments are among those with the exemptions. Only about 100 companies have been turned down, according to the government.

The higher minimum care limits would have increased the cost of insuring workers with the low-cost health plans. Companies told the government that without an exclusion from the rules, they would be forced to drop coverage or increase its cost to the point of being unaffordable.



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...OR733SJN52.DTL

[cawacko]

My thread = Troll GTFO!

[PostmodernProphet]

step one complete....
step two.....cancel all the exemptions previously granted.....
step three....listen to the uproar....
step four....cancel the whole stupid program and replace with something intelligent....