Senate widens its probe of bare-bones health plans

A congressional committee is widening its investigation of bare-bones health-insurance policies to encompass potentially hundreds of plans offered by low-wage employers.

What started as a probe into McDonald's Corp.'s insurance plan for store workers is expanding into broad scrutiny of "mini-med" policies that could ensnare large mini-med carriers including Aetna Inc. and Cigna Corp.

Congressional investigators are taking a close look at the two carriers and culling insurance policy data on a range of large and small employers, a Senate aide said.