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Military.com Forums Hot Topics & Current Events In the News Wal-Mart Backs Obama Health Plan|
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Experienced Member |
"The nation’s largest private employer has shocked other retailers by sending an open letter to President Obama supporting a mandate to require large employers to contribute to their employees’ health care coverage.
The National Retail Federation, a lobby for retailers, said it was “flabbergasted” by Wal-Mart’s move. 46 million Americans do not have health insurance. "We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage," said the letter, signed by Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke. Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, also signed the letter, along with John Podesta, who led President Obama's transition team and is chief executive of the Center for American Progress, a think tank that calls itself “progressive”. Well I say a national health plan is done deal now that the Corporate giant is on board with it. Could this be that Wal Mart really cares for it's employees. or is this just another ploy to save itself millions? This is also the kind of Company / Union TEAMWORK I love seeing. A step in the right direction. "http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/Wal-Mart-Backs-Obama-Health-Plan.aspx?googleid=266212" |
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-------------------  Proud Member Derelict Veterans' Group -------------------  |
Well, when Wal Mart is allowed to vote, I will start caring what they think, until then, I will rely on my own opinion.
Todays politics remind me of an old saying. - "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?" - Joseph Stalin |
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Member |
Sheesh crackerjack, Wal Mart can afford to chip in, they don't have any competition anymore because the mom and pop shops are out. Scary kind of monopoly feeling. |
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Experienced Member |
LOA You know your vote as well as mine doesn't count for crap anyway. The Corporations and richies run this nation (lets not forget our wonderful public servants with the bennies and kick backs they get as well). |
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Experienced Member |
I hear ya girl and I agree. What I love about this is Wal Mart taking the lead and stepping up to the plate and recognizing that people need affordable health care. Affordable, not free. But when everything has went over over the past 20 years except wages, affordable health is out of reach for most working people. Not to be confused with the freebies the no loads get. |
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Highly Experienced Member |
Well, that settles it for me. If Wal-Mart says it is a good plan than it is. Good bye Tri-Care for life and Medicare. I can see it now,"Colonoscopy clean up on aisle 12".
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Experienced Member |
 Sounds good to me. Medicare will be busted by the time I "qualify" for it anyway. |
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Member |
You know crackerjack, that is a good point, affordable, not free...
I think we should all have access to healthcare and I think we should all have to pay for it and I think it is too expensive. Right now we have to have it and pay for it to get treatment and if we don't we go to er and they treat us and then we pay even more later, yes? Why can't we just have the darn treatment and make small payments? Why does everything have to be so expensive that if you get sick you have to sell your house and will be out on the street? I will say that I am concerned with the quality going down if we mess with the healthcare. Ever been to a free clinic? I mean, yes, you do get seen eventually, but you are really not to sure you are getting the best treatment. Why is healthcare and housing lenders and companies like gas, oil, electric all so greedy? Why can't you just pay a little along the way without all the outrageous interest? |
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Experienced Member |
Well, that settles it! Looks like Capitalism is surely going away! Wal-Mart, in order to survive, will cave in because they know that more than likely Hugo Chavez Obama is going to be the USSA's (United Socialist States of America) next supreme leader. Congress will not challenge this, they support the peaceful overthrow of Constitutional power to our new dictator. As for the Supreme Court, hmmm...
As for the common man, well, we are going to be taken to America's new facilities, STALAGS! We voted for Change, we got it and now there is NO HOPE!!! The annionted one is spreading the wealth! I wish I were poor now, my lazy A$$ would be living better in the near future! The middle class will be extinct a few short months and the rich will seek politcal asylum to Mexico!  |
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Lead Moderator MILITARY HISTORY Freedom!!!  |
A few questions...how many employees does Wal-Mart have? How many have health coverage? How many are part-time w/o benefits? One needs ask these questions before We ascertain whether Wal-Mart is serving their own ends...to the bottom line...or interested in the quality of life of Fellow Americans... Specify please... |
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suspended pending review,Nemesis |
This merely confirms my thoughts that Obama's health insurance plans suck big time...  Dave |
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suspended pending review,Nemesis |
ROFLMAO!!!  Who would dream of calling you paranoid...  Dave |
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------------------- Proud Member Derelict Veterans' Group ------------------- |
I hang onto the hope that one day my vote will count. On the other hand, Walmart is an evil corporation that will be closed down by the will of the people. NO SOUP FOR YOU!! Todays politics remind me of an old saying. - "Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?" - Joseph Stalin |
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Member |
lollllllllllllllll now that was funny LOA |
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Lead Moderator MILITARY HISTORY Freedom!!! |
No answers??? |
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Member |
I was listening to a doctor (somehow connected to the AMA) talk about the health care. In one of his statements he said that due to federal regulations, doctors can not make side arrangements with patients. It is not allowed. (Remember in the old days, there was that barter system.) "They love our milk and honey but they preach about some other way of living When you’re running down my country, Hoss you’re walking on the fighting side of me" - - Merle Haggard |
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Experienced Member |
I believe the site is an anti-wal-mart site but you asked. Total Employess (world wide) approx. 2,100,000 (2008)[2] from WiKi. Wal-Mart and Health Care Download the Wal-Mart and Health Care flyer - PDF Wal-Mart's Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 775,000 Employees Wal-Mart reported in January 2006 that its health insurance only covers 43% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.39 million US employees. [http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf] Wal-Mart's Health Insurance Falls Far Short of Other Large Companies On average for 2005, large companies (200 or more workers) cover approximately 66% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 318,000 employees [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 and Wal-Mart's Health Care Eligibility is Restrictive Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week — must wait 1 year before they can enroll. Moreover, spouses of part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage for 2006. [Wal-Mart Stores, "My Benefits, New Peak Time Benefits Making a Difference For You," 2006] Full-time hourly employees must wait 180 days (approximately 6 months) before being able to enroll in Wal-Mart's health insurance plan. Managers have no waiting period. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide] Nationally, the average wait time for new employees to become eligible is 1.7 months. For the retail industry it is 3.0 months. [Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2005] All of Wal-Mart's Health Plans Are Too Costly for Its Workers to Use Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW analysis] The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW Analysis]. Wal-Mart trumps the affordability of its new health care plan. According to Wal-Mart, "In January [2006], ...Coverage will be available for as little as $22 per month for individuals" [www.walmartfacts.com] What Wal-Mart's website leaves out: Coverage is affordable, but using it will bankrupt many employees. Wal-Mart's most affordable plan for 2006 includes a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide] Wal-Mart Admits Public Health Care is a "Better Value" President and CEO Lee Scott said in 2005, "In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums." [Transcript Lee Scott Speech 4/5/05] Wal-Mart's Health Care is Getting Costlier Between 2000-2005, the cost of premiums rose 169 percent for single coverage and 117 percent for family coverage. [UFCW analysis of annual Wal-Mart Associate Guides]. In comparison, premiums for family coverage in the U.S. have increased only by 59%, from 2000-2005. [Employer Health Benefits: 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004] In 2004, Wal-Mart employees, in total, paid approximately 41% of the plan costs [Wal-Mart IRS 5500 Filings, 2005]. Nationally for 2004 on average employees paid for only 16% of single coverage costs and 28% of family coverage costs [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005]. Wal-Mart Covers Less of the Health Care Costs Compared to Its Competitors In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart which covered 66%, Target which covered 68%, and Sears which covered 80% ["Employers Who Have 50 or More Employees Using Public Health Assistance," Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, 2/2005] Wal-Mart's Spending Falls Below Industry Standards Wal-Mart's spending on health care for its employees falls well below industry and national employer averages. In 2002, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart spent an average of $3,500 per employee. By comparison, the average spending per employee in the wholesale/retailing sector was $4,800. For U.S. employers in general, the average was $5,600 per employee, Therefore, Wal-Mart's average spending on health benefits for each covered employee was 27% less than the industry average and 37% less than the national average. [Bernard Wysocki, Jr. and Ann Zimmerman, "Wal-Mart Cost-Cutting Finds a Big Target in Health Benefits," Wall Street Journal September 30, 2003 p1] Wal-Mart Only Spends 77 Cents an Hour Per Employee for Health Benefits In 2004, Wal-Mart spent $1.5 billion on its health insurance. This amounts to an employer contribution of around only $0.77 an hour per employee. This accounts for approximately a half-percent of Wal-Mart's $285 billion in sales in 2004. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, Wal-Mart Annual Report, 2005]. Wal-Mart Increased Advertising More Than Health Care In 2004, Wal-Mart spent nearly the same amount on advertising as it did on health insurance. In 2004, Wal-Mart reports that it spent $1.5 billion on health care benefits and $1.4 billion in advertising. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005] Between 2003 and 2004, Wal-Mart increased its advertising budget by $434 million, only increasing its spending on employee health care by $100 million. That means Wal-Mart increased its spending on advertising by 45 percent while only increasing its spending on employee health care by 7 percent. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005] In fact, Wal-Mart has consistently increased spending on advertising more than its spending on employee health care. Between 2002 and 2003, Wal-Mart put more new funds into advertising than into health care. Wal-Mart increased spending on advertising by $290 million, while only increasing health care spending by $215 million for the same period. (note: this also occurred in 1995-96, 1997-98,1998-1999). [Wal-Mart Annual Reports and 5500 Filings] One Out of Six Wal-Mart Employees Has No Health Care Coverage At All This is more than double the national percentage for large firms (firms with over 100 employees). In fact, we estimate that Wal-Mart accounted in 2005 for more than 1 out of every 40 uninsured workers who are employed at a large firm. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005; Wal-Mart Annual Report; "Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Coverage: Sponsorship, Eligibility, and Participation Patterns in 2001," Bowen Garrett, Ph.D., released by the Kaiser Family Foundation September 2004]. Costs to Taxpayers Download the Costs to Taxpayers flyer - PDF Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On
Health care subsidies compared to executive compensation Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004. This $22 million could reimburse taxpayers in 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents. [Wal-Mart Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT, AL]. Disclamer: No way can I or will I vouch for the information posted. >>>>http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/ |
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Member |
Is there any doubt we need serious healthcare reform?
Insurance and medical companies are out of control. A family I know was just informed by their insurer that they wil no longer pay for the medicine prescribed by a cardiologist for their daughter who had a heart transplant. Instead they want her to take something cheaper, which the doctor does not agree with and he won't prescribe. If she doesn't have the right drug her heart will fail, so now they are stuck paying over $500 a month to keep their daughter alive, plus pay for health insurance. |
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Member |
I know we have all these bells and whistles but I kinda miss the good old black and white days of Ozzie and Harriott, don't you aggie swife? |
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Member |
Those are the kind of stories that make me so sad. I guess some people are drs for money but that little girl should be the real reason a person becomes a dr. |
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Military.com Forums Hot Topics & Current Events In the News Wal-Mart Backs Obama Health Plan
