Today, Wal-Mart plans on adjusting their Health Care system by adjusting it for the 4th time in one year. Wal-Mart will announce what it has billed as a “major health care initiative,” at a Tampa, Fla. event with senior executives, elected officials and “other special guests.” They’ll have a tremendous opportunity to make dramatic changes to their inadequate employee health care plan, a problem that a recent Wal-Mart job posting described as “the biggest single reputation issue Wal-Mart faces.” Are our efforts finally working??? Or is this just yet another PR response to all the criticism from the national campaign against Wal-Mart
Our friends at Wal-Mart Watch have done great research on this issue here is their release
Additional information on Wal-Mart’s health care plan is available below and at www.walmartwatch.com/healthcare.
WAL-MART’S HEALTH CARE PLAN: RHETORIC VS. REALITY
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart says it does offer affordable health-insurance coverage for its workers.
REALITY:<!– D(["mb","nBut Wal-Mart knows that coverage is too expensive for its workforce. Anmemo written by Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Executive Vice-President fornBenefits, for the Wal-Mart board of directors, said: "[O]urncritics are correct in some of their observations. Specifically, ourncoverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has ansignificant percentage of associates and their children on publicnassistance." [Susan Chambers Memo to the Wal-Mart Board ofnDirectors, http://walmartwatch.com/memo;nNew York Times, 10/26/05]
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RHETORIC:nWal-Mart says it offers health care plans with low premiums.
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REALITY:nBut according to the Center for a Changing Workforce, in 2003 Wal-Martnemployees paid 41 percent of insurance premium costs. At the time ofnthe report, Costco employees paid about 10 percent of premium costs.nNationally, workers today pay an average of 16 percent of premiums fornsingle coverage and 26 percent for family coverage. [Employer HealthnBenefits 2005 Annual Survey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and HealthnResearch and Educational Trust; Wal-Mart and Healthcare: ConditionnCritical, Center for a Changing Workforce, 10/26/05]
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RHETORIC:nWal-Mart says its employees are only slightly more likely to collectnMedicaid than average.
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REALITY:nHowever, the Susan Chambers memo recognizes that "fivenpercent of our associates are on Medicaid compared to an average fornnational employers of four percent. Twenty-seven percent ofnassociates’ children are on such programs, compared to annational average of twenty-two percent." [Susan Chambers Memonto the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, http://walmartwatch.com/memo;nNew York Times, 10/26/05]”,1] ); //–> But Wal-Mart knows that coverage is too expensive for its workforce. A memo written by Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Executive Vice-President for Benefits, for the Wal-Mart board of directors, said: “[O]ur critics are correct in some of their observations. Specifically, our coverage is expensive for low-income families, and Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of associates and their children on public assistance.” [Susan Chambers Memo to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, http://walmartwatch.com/memo; New York Times, 10/26/05]
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart says it offers health care plans with low premiums.
REALITY: But according to the Center for a Changing Workforce, in 2003 Wal-Mart employees paid 41 percent of insurance premium costs. At the time of the report, Costco employees paid about 10 percent of premium costs. Nationally, workers today pay an average of 16 percent of premiums for single coverage and 26 percent for family coverage. [Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust; Wal-Mart and Healthcare: Condition Critical, Center for a Changing Workforce, 10/26/05]
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart says its employees are only slightly more likely to collect Medicaid than average.
REALITY: However, the Susan Chambers memo recognizes that “five percent of our associates are on Medicaid compared to an average for national employers of four percent. Twenty-seven percent of associates’ children are on such programs, compared to a national average of twenty-two percent.” [Susan Chambers Memo to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors, http://walmartwatch.com/memo; New York Times, 10/26/05]<!– D(["mb","
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RHETORIC:nWal-Mart says it is among a small number of retail employers to offernhealth coverage to both part-time and full-time employees.
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REALITY:nBut the percentage of associates covered by Wal-Mart health insurancenin January 2006 was 46 percent, compared to a national average of 67npercent of workers for large firms who receive health benefits fromntheir employers. [http://www.walmartfacts.com;nEmployer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey, The Kaiser FamilynFoundation and Health Research and Educational Trust]
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RHETORIC:nWal-Mart will claim it has more full-time workers than other retailers.
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REALITY:nBut the company’snpart-time workforce – currently around 20 percent of thencompany’s employees – is larger than the nationalnretail average. Furthermore, Wal-Mart executives have acknowledged thatnthe retailer will shift to a heavier reliance on part-time workers. Anrecent JP Morgan report said Wal-Mart plans to increase the ratio ofnits 1.2 million-member U.S. hourly workforce on part-time schedules ton40 percent from 20 percent. Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswignpredicted that Wal-Mart’s proportion of full-time workers isndeclining, and in a 60-page research report, she predicted thatn"Wal-Mart will reduce its ratio of full-time workers to 60npercent over the next year or so, with the remaining 40 percent slatednfor part-time status." [Wall Street Journal, 4/11/06;nAssociated Press, 5/3/06]
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RHETORIC:nWal-Mart claims it shortened the waiting period for part-time workersnto receive health coverage by half.
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REALITY:nBut Wal-Mart has more part-time workers, which lowers the number ofnemployees who are eligible for coverage. Wal-Mart’s part-timenworkforce is larger than the national retail average. Full-timenWal-Mart employees still wait twice as long for health care eligibilityncompared to the average for the retail industry. Wall Street Journal,n4/11/06; Associated Press, 5/3/06; Employer Health Benefits 2005 AnnualnSurvey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research andnEducational Trust]”,1] ); //–>
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart says it is among a small number of retail employers to offer health coverage to both part-time and full-time employees.
REALITY: But the percentage of associates covered by Wal-Mart health insurance in January 2006 was 46 percent, compared to a national average of 67 percent of workers for large firms who receive health benefits from their employers. [http://www.walmartfacts.com; Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust]
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart will claim it has more full-time workers than other retailers.
REALITY: But the company’s part-time workforce – currently around 20 percent of the company’s employees – is larger than the national retail average. Furthermore, Wal-Mart executives have acknowledged that the retailer will shift to a heavier reliance on part-time workers. A recent JP Morgan report said Wal-Mart plans to increase the ratio of its 1.2 million-member U.S. hourly workforce on part-time schedules to 40 percent from 20 percent. Citigroup analyst Deborah Weinswig predicted that Wal-Mart’s proportion of full-time workers is declining, and in a 60-page research report, she predicted that “Wal-Mart will reduce its ratio of full-time workers to 60 percent over the next year or so, with the remaining 40 percent slated for part-time status.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/11/06; Associated Press, 5/3/06]
RHETORIC: Wal-Mart claims it shortened the waiting period for part-time workers to receive health coverage by half.
REALITY: But Wal-Mart has more part-time workers, which lowers the number of employees who are eligible for coverage. Wal-Mart’s part-time workforce is larger than the national retail average. Full-time Wal-Mart employees still wait twice as long for health care eligibility compared to the average for the retail industry. Wall Street Journal, 4/11/06; Associated Press, 5/3/06; Employer Health Benefits 2005 Annual Survey, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust]<!– D(["mb","
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FornAditional Information:�AtlanticnMonthly: The New War Over Wal-Martn
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