• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

AFL-CIO Report: Wal-Mart workers exhausting federal Medicaid program

Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, March 17, 2006

Employees at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in at least 19 states are draining the federal Medicaid program, according to a recent report issued by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Wal-Mart, which employs 1.39 million workers, is the biggest factor in the dramatic rise of Medicaid costs, according to the AFL-CIO.

The report comes on the heels of legislation in Maryland requiring employers of 10,000 workers or more to spent at least 8% of their payroll on health benefits, or pay the rest into a state low-income health insurance fund, reports CNNMoney.com.

Based on its own report, the AFL-CIO is supporting similar legislation in about two dozen other states.

Even in states where Wal-Mart is not the leading employer, such as Iowa, New Jersey, and Utah, more workers from Wal-Mart than any other company relied on government healthcare assistance, the report said.

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive