September 27, 2006 11:24 PM
Walmart To Change Health Insurance Options
Walmart is always keen on cutting cost, but shouldn't Walmart enter the business of health insurance and help bring down the price of the industry for everyone?
From WSJ:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. next year will curtail options it offers newly hired workers for health-care coverage, promoting a low-premium, high-deductible plan.
The retailer anticipates its "Value Plan" will let employees with few health-care needs save money through low premiums. Critics, however, argue the shift allows Wal-Mart to cut its costs for health-care benefits and discourage unhealthy people from seeking work at its stores.
Wal-Mart introduced the Value Plan early this year. It allows employees to pay premiums as low as $11 a month in some areas in exchange for a relatively high deductible of $1,000. It also allows a given employee three visits to the doctor and three prescriptions for generic drugs a year before the deductible kicks in. It imposes no lifetime cap on coverage.
On Jan. 1, the Value Plan will become the primary of three options available for Wal-Mart's new hires. Another is a health-savings-account plan that gives employees a tax-free option to set aside part of their own pay with supplements from Wal-Mart of as much as $2,400 a year for use in paying medical expenses. In 16 states, Wal-Mart also provides coverage through health-maintenance organizations.
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