McDonald’s is or was at least kicking around the idea of dropping health care for 30,000 workers, in what seems to be a nose-thumbing reaction to government health care reform.

The Wall Street Journal got ahold of a memo to federal officials that said it would be “economically prohibitive” for the company to continue offering its current health plan unless it got an exemption from a mandate to spend 80 to 85 percent of premiums on benefits.

A McDonald’s spokesman told the WSJ that it will look for “other insurance options” if the feds deny the waiver. “McDonald’s will continue to be committed to providing competitive pay and benefits,” the spokesman said, meaning the memo could just be posturing by the company.

If not, maybe McDonald’s thinks its employees are independently wealthy and immune to sicknesses of all kinds.

McDonald’s May Drop Health Plan [The Wall Street Journal via The Awl]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.