Wal-Mart, often cited as an employer "black hat" in health care discussions, has come in for some deserved good press from, of all media, the New York Times. Here's the lead from the summary provided by Covertheuninsured.org, a great source of health care information.
For the first time since it was founded 46 years ago, Wal-Mart is providing health care coverage to more than half of its workers in the United States--"a milestone for a retailer long criticized as offering unaffordable benefits," reports the New York Times.
The NYT describes the Wal-Mart plan, which sounds pretty good:
After several years of intensive research and debate within Wal-Mart — including discussions with executives at companies known for generous health care like Starbucks, Pitney Bowes and Microsoft — the chain introduced last fall what was considered its most flexible and generous health plan, effective for the calendar year 2008.
The plan offered deductibles ranging from $350 to $2,000 for individuals. Employees could choose plans with health care “credits” to use for routine care and obtain 2,400 generic prescription drugs for $4 apiece.
Wal-Mart also eliminated fees like $150 monthly for covering a spouse and cut out separate deductibles, like an additional $1,000 for a hospital stay.
A family can pay as little as $250 a year in premiums if it is willing to shoulder a $4,000 deductible and be responsible for as much as $10,000 in medical bills, roughly the same plan that cost $1,500 a few years ago.
A good employer response.
Cover the Uninusred also reports on the defeat the California Senate handed Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Senator Dick Ackerman said that he and his fellow Republicans did not approve of the governor’s plan to rework the entire system, which they felt was working for the most part. In addition, they did not like provisions that would increase the cigarette tax and provide health insurance to illegal residents. Adding to the bill’s problems was a report released by the Legislative Analysts Office that found that while the program could be funded in its first year of operation in 2010-11, "by the fifth year of the program (2014-15), annual costs exceed revenues by $300 million.''
Based on the record in Massachusetts, that shortfall is probably understated.
MORE The State Policy Network adds New Mexico to the list of would-be reform states, with a plan touted by Gov. Bill Richardson.
