McDonald’s Senior VP Steve Russell denied the reports that surfaced earlier today. Russell said it is “completely false,” that his company has plans to cut health care benefits for some.
Mcdonald’s Health Care Benefits NOT Getting Cut – As many as 30,000 employees may have their health care dropped by the fast food giant corporation McDonald’s. They are looking to drop health insurance plans for their hourly workers if the company does not receive a waiver for new requirements, according to a report that was released today by the Wall Street Journal.
McDonald’s may not be alone in their threats. The journal said that many restaurants and retailers might be looking to do the same thing. This is one of a number of attempts by big business to fire back at the White House after they passed the health care reform bill.
The current program allows a single worker to pay $14 per week for a plan that will cover up to $2,000 per year. $32 per week would allow that same individual to receive up to $10,000 in coverage per year.
It will be interesting to see if any of the large companies go through with their plans to drop health care for their hourly workers. This would certainly be a pain for the White House, who was likely expecting that certain companies would find a workaround for the new requirements that have been placed on them.
McDonald’s has offered their current plan for a decade and more than 85 percent of those that take advantage of the plan have less than $5,000 in medical expenses each and every year.