The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Healthcare Bill Surprises
“McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
McDonald’s offers many of its employees “mini-med” plans with limited benefits:
A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.
Last week, a senior McDonald’s official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain’s insurer won’t meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.
McDonald’s and trade groups say the percentage, called a medical loss ratio, is unrealistic for mini-med plans because of high administrative costs owing to frequent worker turnover, combined with relatively low spending on claims.
Democrats who drafted the health law wanted the requirement to prevent insurers from spending too much on executive salaries, marketing and other costs that they said don’t directly help patients.
The Journal news story describes the announcement as “the latest indication of possible unintended consequences from the health overhaul.” Well, Nancy Pelosi did warn us: “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.” Did anyone think she was suggesting there would be pleasant surprises?
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