Health Coverage McDonald's Style

While traveling America's highways and bi-ways, I never miss the opportunity to ask people about their health insurance coverage. I've spoken with several restaurant workers including Sandy, who was working at the McDonald's in Holland, Michigan, when I passed through last month.

Sandy is typical of the 30 million low-wage workers in our country. Like Sandy, two-thirds are white and female. Many have a high school education and are single parents supporting their children.

Believe it or not, Sandy took the job at McDonald's to get on the health plan. Her premium is $42 a week or $182 a month. The co-pay for non-generic medicines is $50. That's a lot of money when you make $7.00 an hour and have to fight for a full 40-hour work week.

But here's the real kicker. There aren't any local doctors on Sandy's plan. She had to drive more than 40 miles to see a doctor. Many low-wage workers don't own a car (because they can't afford it) and would be hard pressed to pay for the gas if they did.

So, despite her hopes, the coverage wasn't worth the cost. Sandy recently found another job paying twice as much and was planning to move on soon. Sandy is one of the lucky ones. There aren't career ladders for most low-wage jobs, and most never earn a median wage during their lifetime.

For more information on the challenges facing low-wage workers and their families, go to www.lowwagework.org sponsored by the Fairness Initiative on Low-Wage Work, a project funded by the Ford Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.