"[One] use for skinny plans is as an insurance policy for an employer that chooses to apply the look-back measurement method for determining an employee's status as 'full-time,' but is worried that it may not be properly identifying variable hour employees in all cases. In this situation, the employer will offer a major medical (i.e., minimum value) plan to all or substantially all of the employees that it determines to be full-time and offer the skinny plan to all employees. That way, if an employee is determined to be variable hour he or she still has an offer of coverage under the skinny plan."  MORE >>