Wal-Mart Drops Coverage For Part-Time Workers
Hundreds
of thousands of those covered by health insurance plans that do not meet
Obamacare guidelines are about to be notified in the coming weeks that they are
losing their coverage. Individuals who renewed their noncompliant plans early in order to
put off ACA-related changes will be receiving cancellation notices or
re-enrolled in more costly ACA-compliant plans. In
addition, earlier this week, Wal-Mart announced that some 30,000 of its
part-time employees will no longer be offered health insurance. Wal-Mart says
it underestimated the costs associated with the implementation of the
Affordable Care Act, which it says now total $500 million annually.
What It Means For Small Business:
The cost impact will be felt the
most in states where noncompliant plan extensions were prohibited. Without
repeal or substantial reforms to President Obama’s healthcare law, more
businesses may be pressed to stop offering healthcare
benefits to their employees, who will then be forced to seek coverage via
healthcare.gov or their state’s ACA exchange. In fact, some left-leaning media
outlets celebrated Wal-Mart’s announcement as evidence that the US is moving
towards the single-payer socialized medical systems found in Europe and Canada.
Further Reading:
The AP, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News all covered the news from
Wal-Mart. May Elizabeth Williams, in a piece for Salon titled, “Did Wal-Mart Just Move Us
Closer To Single-payer Health Care?” and Sarah Kliff of Vox make the case that for progressives, the
fact that 30,000 Wal-Mart employees lost their health insurance is “good news.”
Related:
The new healthcare legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, has left many small business owners wondering: What does this mean for my business and what do I have to do next? NFIB has answers.
This news article is intended to keep small business owners apprised of current events that may affect them. It does not necessarily reflect NFIB’s policy position on such issues.
