IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 4, 2009

CONTACT: Meghan Scott
(202) 721-8014


WALMARTS NEW AD ON HEALTH CARE: ALL TALK, NO ACTION

WakeUpWalmart.com Calls On Americas Largest Private Employer To Start By Offering Its 1.4 Million Workers Quality Care They Can Afford


Today Walmart released a new ad about health coverage. At Walmart were proud to report that 94% of our full time and part time associates have some type of health coverage, the ad begins, but we wont be 100% satisfied until every American has quality affordable health coverage.

Walmart is right -- every American should have access to quality, affordable health coverage, and that includes Walmarts 1.4 million U.S. workers, said Meghan Scott, Director of WakeUpWalMart.com. Walmart should start by offering their own employees quality, affordable health coverage instead of forcing so many on to public assistance.

Walmart claims that 94 percent of their employees have some type of health coverage. Of course they dont say that only 52 percent of employees get it through Walmart - which falls far short of the industry average of 65 percent. Walmart fails to cover nearly 675,000 of its employees, leaving many workers to enroll in state-sponsored plans like Medicaid or the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)."

In 2005, Lee Scott, Walmarts former CEO, admitted that, "In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value -- with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums."

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