National Restaurant Assn. and UnitedHealth join on coverage effort for restaurant workers
The initiative is one of the largest private-sector efforts to expand health coverage. Its creators say it could help cover the 4 million to 6 million restaurant employees without health benefits.
The National Restaurant Assn. and insurance giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. are teaming up in a bid to make coverage more accessible to millions of restaurant workers without health benefits — three years ahead of when the healthcare overhaul would require everyone to have insurance.
The initiative, though limited at the outset, marks one of the largest private-sector efforts to expand health insurance coverage.
And its architects said it could ultimately help cover the 4 million to 6 million restaurant employees without health benefits, or about 10% of the nation's current population of uninsured.
The company, however, could still retain the right to deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions, at least until 2014.
The association plans to announce Friday, at its annual convention in Chicago, a website and a menu of insurance plans in Pennsylvania and Colorado and then expand into California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and other states within a year.......
Read the rest here
Thoughts? 4 to 6 million? Maybe just a last ditch effort to sell some policies while it is somewhat profitable and before 2014.
The initiative is one of the largest private-sector efforts to expand health coverage. Its creators say it could help cover the 4 million to 6 million restaurant employees without health benefits.
The National Restaurant Assn. and insurance giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. are teaming up in a bid to make coverage more accessible to millions of restaurant workers without health benefits — three years ahead of when the healthcare overhaul would require everyone to have insurance.
The initiative, though limited at the outset, marks one of the largest private-sector efforts to expand health insurance coverage.
And its architects said it could ultimately help cover the 4 million to 6 million restaurant employees without health benefits, or about 10% of the nation's current population of uninsured.
The company, however, could still retain the right to deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions, at least until 2014.
The association plans to announce Friday, at its annual convention in Chicago, a website and a menu of insurance plans in Pennsylvania and Colorado and then expand into California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and other states within a year.......
Read the rest here
Thoughts? 4 to 6 million? Maybe just a last ditch effort to sell some policies while it is somewhat profitable and before 2014.