Wal-Mart: An Example of Why Workers Remain Uninsured and Underinsured (AFL-CIO)

This report from the AFL-CIO examines why fewer than half of Wal-Mart's employees are insured under the company plan. From the introduction: 

"Nationally, two-thirds (66 percent) of workers at large firms get health insurance from their own employer. But at Wal-Mart, fewer than half of the company’s employees actually are insured under the company plan—between just 41 and 46 percent, according to information reported by the Wall Street Journal and an analysis of Wal-Mart filings with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Labor. Wal-Mart has implemented plan changes in recent years that materially narrow eligibility for benefits, increase workers’ out-of-pocket costs and reduce health benefits. These factors raise particular concerns about Wal-Mart’s employees because most are low-wage workers who likely lack the necessary resources to otherwise provide for adequate, reliable medical coverage.

The relatively low health care plan participation rates by Wal-Mart employees compared with employees of the typical large company likely result, in part, from Wal-Mart’s benefit policies, which specifically deny employees coverage or make it relatively expensive to purchase. Wal-Mart requires workers to wait relatively long periods of time—six months for most full-time employees and two years for part-timers—before they become eligible to buy into a Wal-Mart medical plan. Wal-Mart also restricts access to family coverage: Part-time employees never can buy coverage under the Wal-Mart plan for their family members, and family coverage disappears if a worker slips from full-time to part-time status."

Click here to download the report