Obamacare Forces Walmart To Cancel Health Insurance Coverage For 30,000 Workers

[Siete]

I've read tons on this subject. Several (many) opinions agree. The burden of guilt is on the insurance companies. Insurance costs have risen because the insurance industry wanted them to rise not because ACA made them rise. Similar to the car insurance scenario mentioned here. Health insurance was increasing at warp speed BEFORE ACA was implemented, and nobody gave a damn or at least they never gave it this much attention. This is all about Obama not health insurance costs. Admit it.


Health Insurance rose 131% between 1999 and 2009.

Chart shows staggering rise in health insurance costs


where was the rage for 43 and the RW then ?

"The burden of guilt is on the insurance companies. Insurance costs have risen because the insurance industry wanted them to rise not because ACA made them rise."

Patently silly.
The more that insurance covers the more it costs.

The more that insurance covers, the more it costs. The more it costs, the more profit it makes.

Health Insurance companies are ranked number 88 on the list of company profit margins in America. Health insurance is one of the best bargains available for the buck. It is the cost of medical CARE that is obscene. One visit to the hospital emergency room and one little surgical procedure can easily wipe out three or four years of health insurance premiums. I had a heart attack that resulted in medical provider bills totaling over $100K. I will never pay that much in insurance premiums. Obama attacked the wrong end of the problem. He should have done something about the robbery and fleecing of the people by the medical profession.

you pay a deductible that covers your expenses and that's all you pay for that particular visit.. there's no longer a cap on how much an insurance company decides to pay for your procedure even if your heart attack cost 5 million dollars

 

[mudwhistle]

Obamacare Forces Walmart To Cancel Health Insurance Coverage For 30,000 Workers

"Forces"? Really? A cadre of money-grubbing corporatist scumbags choose to deliberately screw over thousands of working-class cytyzyns in order to further maximize their own profit, and you blame President Obama for this?

Your racism has taken hold of your infinitesimally small manpig "brain" and destroyed all sense of logic and fairness. You are truly beyond reason.

Bitch....

 

[LiberalMedia]

Obamacare Forces Walmart To Cancel Health Insurance Coverage For 30,000 Workers

"Forces"? Really? A cadre of money-grubbing corporatist scumbags choose to deliberately screw over thousands of working-class cytyzyns in order to further maximize their own profit, and you blame President Obama for this?

Your racism has taken hold of your infinitesimally small manpig "brain" and destroyed all sense of logic and fairness. You are truly beyond reason.

Bitch....

That's an interesting point. I feel like I'm learning a lot from this discussion.

 

[mudwhistle]

Obamacare Forces Walmart To Cancel Health Insurance Coverage For 30,000 Workers

"Forces"? Really? A cadre of money-grubbing corporatist scumbags choose to deliberately screw over thousands of working-class cytyzyns in order to further maximize their own profit, and you blame President Obama for this?

Your racism has taken hold of your infinitesimally small manpig "brain" and destroyed all sense of logic and fairness. You are truly beyond reason.

Bitch....

That's an interesting point. I feel like I'm learning a lot from this discussion.

Cool, happy to help....

 

[Disir]

From 2012:

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, plans to begin denying health insurance to newly hired employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, according to a copy of the company’s policy obtained by The Huffington Post.

Under the policy, slated to take effect in January, Walmart also reserves the right to eliminate health care coverage for certain workers if their average workweek dips below 30 hours -- something that happens with regularity and at the direction of company managers.

Walmart declined to disclose how many of its roughly 1.4 million U.S. workers are vulnerable to losing medical insurance under its new policy. In an emailed statement, company spokesman David Tovar said Walmart had “made a business decision” not to respond to questions from The Huffington Post and accused the publication of unfair coverage.

Labor and health care experts portrayed Walmart’s decision to exclude workers from its medical plans as an attempt to limit costs while taking advantage of the national health care reform known as Obamacare. Among the key features of Obamacare is an expansion of Medicaid, the taxpayer-financed health insurance program for poor people. Many of the Walmart workers who might be dropped from the company’s health care plans earn so little that they would qualify for the expanded Medicaid program, these experts said.

“Walmart is effectively shifting the costs of paying for its employees onto the federal government with this new plan, which is one of the problems with the way the law is structured,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

For Walmart, this latest policy represents a step back in time. Almost seven years ago, as Walmart confronted public criticism that its employees couldn't afford its benefits, the company announced with much fanfare that it would expand health coverage for part-time workers.

But last year, the company eliminated coverage for some part-time workers -- those new hires working 24 hours a week or less. Now, Walmart is going further.
Walmart s New Health Care Policy Shifts Burden To Medicaid Obamacare

 

[Mr Natural]

And of course, without Obamacare Wal Mart would be more than happy to take care of it's worker's healthcare insurance.

 

[Vandalshandle]

Hopefully, the republicans will choose "Repeal Obamacare" as their primary plank in the next presidential election. That will guarantee us democrats another 8 years in the White House.

 

[Mustang]

We should take up the collection plate for Walmart. I mean, they must be in pretty bad financial shape if they can't afford to provide healthcare to so many of their workers.

 

[Antares]

You have a heart attack and go to the Hospital.

Care begins and lasts whatever.

At the end when all of the dust settles.....your bill may be 100 K.

Your ded can be anywhere from 200 up....you pay that then in most plans co-insurance kicks in at whatever level you have chosen.

Could be 90-10, 80-20, 70-30 or 60-40.

With ACA plans the Max out of pocket for one individual is $6350, $6450 in 2015.

So out of your 100 K bill all you owe is 6350, you also pay 0 out of pocket expenses for the rest of the year (except for premiums)

 

[Siete]

Hopefully, the republicans will choose "Repeal Obamacare" as their primary plank in the next presidential election. That will guarantee us democrats another 8 years in the White House.

yes, hopefully they will .... take health insurance away from 10 million people, end of the Republicans.

 

[g5000]

"The burden of guilt is on the insurance companies. Insurance costs have risen because the insurance industry wanted them to rise not because ACA made them rise."

Patently silly.
The more that insurance covers the more it costs.

The more that insurance covers, the more it costs. The more it costs, the more profit it makes.

Health Insurance companies are ranked number 88 on the list of company profit margins in America.

There is a difference between profit margin and profit. You can have a 100 percent profit margin, but if you only sell one widget, you aren't making much profit.

Also, if your profit margin is 100 percent, but your widget only costs $3.00 and you have low sales volume, you aren't making much profit. On the other hand, if your profit margin is 5 percent, but your product costs $50,000, you are making way more money than the guy with the 100 percent margin.

And that is why OBAMACARE IS BRINGING INSURERS, HOSPITALS BIG PROFITS

High volume + rising costs = rising profits. Even with a small profit margin. In fact, a low profit margin incentivizes the desire to see costs and sales rise.

Health insurance is one of the best bargains available for the buck. It is the cost of medical CARE that is obscene. One visit to the hospital emergency room and one little surgical procedure can easily wipe out three or four years of health insurance premiums.

That is why insurance companies do actuarials. Not every customer ends up in the ER, so the cost of the one guy who does end up in the ER is spread around all the customers.

I had a heart attack that resulted in medical provider bills totaling over $100K. I will never pay that much in insurance premiums. Obama attacked the wrong end of the problem. He should have done something about the robbery and fleecing of the people by the medical profession.

Again, small profit margin x rising costs = rising profits. Insurance companies like it when things get more and more costly.

My dad worked in the insurance industry for 30 years. He explained all this to me long ago. When I was T-boned by an idiot 17 year old, I called the 17 year old's insurance company and told them all I wanted was the $250 I had to spend as my deductible that was not covered by my insurance.

They said I would have to sue them for it. I told them that was crazy since a lawyer would go for a helluva lot more than $250.

My dad explained that is exactly why they wanted me to sue them. If they have to shell out a lot of money, that increases the cost of insurance. Increased cost = increased profits.

I got a lawyer and ended up with $8000 (after the lawyer took his bite) instead of $250.

 

[Mr Natural]

Who's old enough to remember when company paid healthcare insurance and life insurance were part of the deal?

So what's changed in the last 40 years, have people gotten sicker or have companies gotten cheaper?

 

[Antares]

Nope,sorry.

This ain't your Dad's Market.

This Market requires you to pay out 80% of premiums collected out to claims.
This Market makes you use the other 20% on your expenses.
This Market makes you pay for EVERY condition no matter WHEN it happened to you.

It isn't and will never work, you will get your Single Payor.

 

[LiberalMedia]

[

"Forces"? Really? A cadre of money-grubbing corporatist scumbags choose to deliberately screw over thousands of working-class cytyzyns in order to further maximize their own profit, and you blame President Obama for this?

Your racism has taken hold of your infinitesimally small manpig "brain" and destroyed all sense of logic and fairness. You are truly beyond reason.

Yes - forced. It was either do this or go bankrupt.

Bullshit, prove it. Here's evidence that you're full of bullshit and so is anyone who advocates that position:

"We had to make some tough decisions," Sally Welborn, Wal-Mart's senior vice president of benefits, told The Associated Press.

Welborn said she didn't know how much Wal-Mart will save by dropping part-time employees, but added that the company will use a third-party organization to help part-time workers find insurance alternatives

Take note: That VP title doesn't indicate that there's someone else in charge of benefits above hyr, but rather, she's a Vice President at Walmart (a Senior Vice President, no less, indicating that she's higher up on the totem poll than some of the other VPs) and is in charge of the company's division that handles benefits.

So, the highest-ranking pyrsyn at Walmart in terms of the company's benefits policies has no idea what this will save Walmart. They didn't conduct an analysis and say, "Well, we'll go bankrupt if we continue to offer 5% of our part-timers healthcare, so let's drop that so our billion-dollar business can stay afloat." Instead, she decided to cruelly cut the program altogether.

More from the article you clearly didn't read:

The announcement comes after Wal-Mart said far more U.S. employees and their families are enrolling in its health care plans than it had expected following rollout of the Affordable Care Act, which requires big companies to offer coverage to employees working 30 hours or more a week or face a penalty. It also requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

Walmart's policy change affects only employees working under 30 hours per week. The ACA doesn't touch that demographic.

Basically your article says is that the ACA requires pyyple to have health insurance or pay a penalty. To avoid this penalty, 30,000 Walmart employees opted-in to their employer's health insurance program. Walmart then noticed too many "employees and their families" were enrolling in this program, so they axed it.

The "and their families" bit is especially important, since while the penalty for individuals is under $100, that jumps up to nearly $300 for families. So because Walmart saw a rush of customers and got alarmed, 30,000 people and their families are losing their health insurance starting this January. The ACA had nothing to do with it. Walmart wasn't forced to do this or go bankrupt--they still have no fucking idea how much it would've cost them or how much they're saving as a result of this move. They did it out of cruelty and malice--and because that fucking VP is probably going to get a big fat bonus as a result.

And what's with the racism charge.? This issue is not about race. You silly dems drag race into everything,

I called you a racist because you are a racist. The issue--Walmart canceling health coverage--isn't about race, but your fury over it is. You directed your outrage not at Walmart for their entirely voluntary actions that are in no way related to the ACA's mandates, but rather at President Obama and his crowning achievement.

You clearly only hate him because he's African-American, not for any legitimate reason. (Protip: There are no legitimate reasons to hate President Obama because he's the greatest leader our country has ever had. Deal with it.)

 

[Antares]

[

"Forces"? Really? A cadre of money-grubbing corporatist scumbags choose to deliberately screw over thousands of working-class cytyzyns in order to further maximize their own profit, and you blame President Obama for this?

Your racism has taken hold of your infinitesimally small manpig "brain" and destroyed all sense of logic and fairness. You are truly beyond reason.

Yes - forced. It was either do this or go bankrupt.

Bullshit, prove it. Here's evidence that you're full of bullshit and so is anyone who advocates that position:

"We had to make some tough decisions," Sally Welborn, Wal-Mart's senior vice president of benefits, told The Associated Press.

Welborn said she didn't know how much Wal-Mart will save by dropping part-time employees, but added that the company will use a third-party organization to help part-time workers find insurance alternatives

Take note: That VP title doesn't indicate that there's someone else in charge of benefits above hyr, but rather, she's a Vice President at Walmart (a Senior Vice President, no less, indicating that she's higher up on the totem poll than some of the other VPs) and is in charge of the company's division that handles benefits.

So, the highest-ranking pyrsyn at Walmart in terms of the company's benefits policies has no idea what this will save Walmart. They didn't conduct an analysis and say, "Well, we'll go bankrupt if we continue to offer 5% of our part-timers healthcare, so let's drop that so our billion-dollar business can stay afloat." Instead, she decided to cruelly cut the program altogether.

More from the article you clearly didn't read:

The announcement comes after Wal-Mart said far more U.S. employees and their families are enrolling in its health care plans than it had expected following rollout of the Affordable Care Act, which requires big companies to offer coverage to employees working 30 hours or more a week or face a penalty. It also requires most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

Walmart's policy change affects only employees working under 30 hours per week. The ACA doesn't touch that demographic.

Basically your article says is that the ACA requires pyyple to have health insurance or pay a penalty. To avoid this penalty, 30,000 Walmart employees opted-in to their employer's health insurance program. Walmart then noticed too many "employees and their families" were enrolling in this program, so they axed it.

The "and their families" bit is especially important, since while the penalty for individuals is under $100, that jumps up to nearly $300 for families. So because Walmart saw a rush of customers and got alarmed, 30,000 people and their families are losing their health insurance starting this January. The ACA had nothing to do with it. Walmart wasn't forced to do this or go bankrupt--they still have no fucking idea how much it would've cost them or how much they're saving as a result of this move. They did it out of cruelty and malice--and because that fucking VP is probably going to get a big fat bonus as a result.

And what's with the racism charge.? This issue is not about race. You silly dems drag race into everything,

I called you a racist because you are a racist. The issue--Walmart canceling health coverage--isn't about race, but your fury over it is. You directed your outrage not at Walmart for their entirely voluntary actions that are in no way related to the ACA's mandates, but rather at President Obama and his crowning achievement.

You clearly only hate him because he's African-American, not for any legitimate reason. (Protip: There are no legitimate reasons to hate President Obama because he's the greatest leader our country has ever had. Deal with it.)

"Walmart's policy change affects only employees working under 30 hours per week. The ACA doesn't touch that demographic."

The 30 hour limit is written into the ACA.

 

[Vandalshandle]

"
My dad explained that is exactly why they wanted me to sue them. If they have to shell out a lot of money, that increases the cost of insurance. Increased cost = increased profits."

Sorry, but as a career insurance man, who spent close to 50 years in Middle and Upper management, this simply is not true. They want you to sue them because insurance companies have whole buildings full of attorneys on salary, whose main job is to delay any trial for as long as possible, forcing you to pay exorbitant hourly attorney fees until you finally give up.

 

[g5000]

"
My dad explained that is exactly why they wanted me to sue them. If they have to shell out a lot of money, that increases the cost of insurance. Increased cost = increased profits."

Sorry, but as a career insurance man, who spent close to 50 years in Middle and Upper management, this simply is not true. They want you to sue them because insurance companies have whole buildings full of attorneys on salary, whose main job is to delay any trial for as long as possible, forcing you to pay exorbitant hourly attorney fees until you finally give up.

They didn't delay at all. They settled immediately. There was no trial. The whole process is on automatic.

It's all geared this way.

 

[g5000]

It isn't and will never work, you will get your Single Payor.

I've been saying from the beginning that single payer is inevitable. Within our lifetimes. The GOP abdicated on the health care problem decades ago. They sold us down the river to the Democrats a long, long time ago. All the angry hyperbole from the GOP over ObamaCare is theater for the rubes.

 

[g5000]

Who's old enough to remember when company paid healthcare insurance and life insurance were part of the deal?

So what's changed in the last 40 years, have people gotten sicker or have companies gotten cheaper?

Employer-sponsored health insurance is a gigantic boondoggle. It bends the cost curve for health care upward. It should go the way of the dodo bird.

ObamaCare further entrenches it instead. That's because Obama and the Democratic Party are in the pocket of the labor unions.

The GOP is in the pocket of the insurance companies.

This makes you the star of a double-penetration fuck flick.

 

[Mr Natural]

Who's old enough to remember when company paid healthcare insurance and life insurance were part of the deal?

So what's changed in the last 40 years, have people gotten sicker or have companies gotten cheaper?

Employer-sponsored health insurance is a gigantic boondoggle. It bends the cost curve for health care upward. It should go the way of the dodo bird.

ObamaCare further entrenches it instead. That's because Obama and the Democratic Party are in the pocket of the labor unions.

The GOP is in the pocket of the insurance companies.

This makes you the star of a double-penetration fuck flick.

In case you haven't noticed, employer-sponsored health insurance has all but gone the way of the dodo bird.

Leaving workers who by and large make less than those who have gone before to cough up stifling monthly healthcare insurance premiums.