Want to know why so few Wal-Mart workers have healthcare?

Wal-Mart workers can’t afford the company program

• The average Wal-Mart worker would have to pay one fifth of his/her paycheck for health care coverage at Wal-Mart.
• Business Week reported that on average, Wal-Mart sales clerks -- "associates" in company parlance -- pulled in $8.23 an hour, or $13,861 a year, in 2001, nearly $800 less than the poverty line for a family of three. That’s why many workers must rely on state programs, family members, or simply live without health insurance.

Passing the Buck to You

• 11 states have published studies showing that Wal-Mart has more employees enrolled in the state Medicaid program - a medical insurance program for people living in and near poverty - than any employer in their state. Just think – You, the taxpayer have to pay the health care costs for a company with $10 billion in profits.
• In 2002, Wal-Mart further restricted the number of employees eligible for coverage by requiring full-time workers to work six months before become eligible to purchase the company's health insurance.

You Pay, You Wait, and Make Sure You Don’t Get Sick

• Part-time workers need to wait two years for health care insurance -- which only qualifies for single coverage, not dependent coverage.
• Also in 2002, the company raised the bar for new full-time workers from 28 hours to 34 hours per week to be eligible to purchase the health care coverage.
• Wal-Mart has increased the premium cost for workers by over 200% from 1993 to 2003 -- medical care inflation only went up 50% in the same period.
• In 2002 alone, Wal-Mart's health care premiums increased by 30%. This is nearly triple the national average increase of 11%.