McDonald's May End Health Care Benefits For 30,000 Workers

William Alden

UPDATE: Sept. 30, 11:57 a.m. EST -- McDonald's denies it McDonald's Senior VP Steve Russell, who is the head of human resources, calls reports that the company will drop its coverage "completely false." Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has also denied The Wall Street Journal's report, calling it "flat out wrong."

"I am sorry that they were not more accurate in their reporting," Sebelius said.

McDonald's has threatened to terminate health benefits for almost 30,000 hourly workers if the government doesn't give the corporation a pass on a provision of this year's health care legislation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The restaurant chain's insurer has refused to meet a 2011 requirement to spend 80 to 85 percent of its revenue from premiums on actual medical care, a McDonald's official told the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week...........