Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:43 pm
In a promo that is running on Fox News, the fair and balanced network uses Wal-Mart as proof for the argument why the US doesn’t need healthcare reform. This is the same Wal-Mart that pays its employees below the poverty line, and directs them to public assistance offices for healthcare. Wal-Mart is the Fox News model for healthcare.
Here is the video:
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Here are some facts about Wal-Mart’s healthcare plan for employees. The company’s healthcare plan only covers 43% of its employees. That leaves over 775,000 people forced to rely on public assistance or be uninsured. The healthcare premiums amount to 20% of an employee’s weekly salary, and deductibles range from $1,000 to $3,000. Wal-Mart charges an extra $100 deductable for taking an ambulance. Part time employees and those with chronic conditions have to wait an additional year beyond other employees before they can sign up.
The worst part of all is that Wal-Mart cost taxpayers billions of dollars a year in public assistance. Since the company does not provide for all of its employees or their children, most of these individuals and families turn to public assistance, which means that the tax payer picks up the tab to the tune of $2.5-$4 billion a year.
The next time that you get a really good deal at Wal-Mart, remember that you aren’t getting that great of a deal because you are paying for their employee healthcare. This is the model that Fox News is endorsing. If anything, Wal-Mart is the poster child for why we need healthcare reform.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
