Wal-Mart Costs Taxpayers $11M In Medicaid (Ohio Jumps on Bandwagon)

Channel Cincinnati ^ | 02-25-2006

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- About 8 percent of Ohio Wal-Mart employees enroll for Medicaid for themselves or their children, costing the state about $11 million, data from a state report released Friday indicate.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and McDonald's Corp. and its franchises are the biggest employers of Ohio Medicaid recipients, even though they represent just 1 percent of the program's costs, the state Department of Job and Family Services said after analyzing the rolls at the request of media outlets and lawmakers.

The world's largest retailer and fast food giant also accounted for the most employed people who get food stamps.

Labor leaders and lawmakers around the country have targeted Wal-Mart, saying wages are so low that employees are forced to seek public assistance.

Ohio spent $10.4 billion last year on Medicaid, the state-federal insurance for the poor and disabled. An average 1.7 million Ohioans a month are covered, and only about 200,000 of those have jobs.

About $95 million went to cover some 105,000 workers and their families from the top 40 employers listed in the report. Of those, 22 percent were associated with Wal-Mart or McDonald's.

"Our system of relying on employers for health insurance is fraying badly, and we're paying for some of the cost in this fashion," said Zach Schiller, research director of Policy Matters Ohio, one of the groups that requested the data. "We should be concerned about it, analyzing it ... and determine if it is reasonable it's happening."

Bills are pending in 22 states to require employers with more than 10,000 workers in the state to spend a certain percentage of earnings on health care. Wal-Mart is often the only state employer fitting the definition.

On Thursday, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company announced plans to make its lowest cost plan available to more workers and shorten the waiting periods to enroll part-time workers sometime this spring.

Ohio's largest employer by far, Wal-Mart has about 48,000 workers in some 150 Ohio stores and five distribution centers as of January, spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said. The average hourly wage is $9.82 -- too high for a full-time worker with a family of three to be eligible for Medicaid this year, but low enough to enroll the children.

The state report did not break out the exact number of workers per company, instead lumping the covered workers with their spouses and children. The 8 percent estimate is based on average family size among the 40 companies.

"Like every business in America, Wal-Mart is dealing with the soaring cost of health care," Hobbs said. She said the company is making health care more available, signing up 50,000 previously uninsured Americans in its health plans in the most recent enrollment period.

Four out of five McDonald's stores are owned and operated by franchisees who independently set pay and benefits, corporate spokesman Bill Whitman said.

The same is true of the rest of the top four employers on the list: Yum Brands Inc., parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's International Inc. The state's second-largest employer, Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., was No. 6.

Being a large employer is no excuse, Schiller said.

"Why would General Motors (Corp., the state's sixth-biggest employer) not be on here when Dairy Queen is?" he said.

Advocates were surprised that the state's third- and fourth-biggest employers, Cleveland Clinic Health System and University Hospitals Health System, did show up lower in the list.

University Hospitals offers health benefits to employees who work as few as 16 hours a week, spokeswoman Loree Vick said. The 1,200 workers and family members listed on Medicaid could be seasonal employees such as groundskeepers or even those who work on campus for other companies such as food service vendors, she said.

Cleveland Clinic officials were still studying the report, spokesman David Fitz said.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Medicaid should be abolished. When you have subsidized healthcare, people are going to use it.

[coconutt2000]

How much would welfare for that many people cost the state?

[Sofa King]

Ok. How much tax revenue was collected as a result of Walmart's operation in the state?

[Tzimisce]

When lefties take Healthcare will they stop attacking Wal Mart?

[goldstategop]

Only if they get socialized medicine. It doesn't matter to them one whit if Wal-mart offers health insurance to its employees or pays its taxes. That's not what they are after.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[Koblenz]

All these people that go on about how Walmart costs X or that Costco or whomever pays more than Walmart forgets one major thing.

Walmart will pretty much hire anyone. Most of the people there couldn't get a better job (for if they could, they would). If Walmart were to magically disappear, these people would not suddenly find better jobs with healthcare.

[jazusamo]

Many states including my own are considering laws to make large employers provide health insurance. A state has no right to force an employer to provide insurance or dictate wages if the minimum wage or higher is paid.

While the legislatures do this, they ignore the reasons that health costs are skyrocketing, one of which are ridiculous awards for malpractice.

[RJL]

About 8 percent of Ohio Wal-Mart employees enroll for Medicaid for themselves or their children, costing the state about $11 million, data from a state report released Friday indicate.

Let's get real, which laws did Wal-Mart pass and sign into law that gives $11 million of taxpayer money to these people?

Of course the answer is none. As powerful as Wal-Mart is, only the legislature and governor can pass such laws. What really happened is that Ohio passed such laws and now they want someone else to pay for their largess.

[SkyDancer]

Ok, so then let Wal-Mart fire all those people and then see who yells ... at least Wally's World took those people off welfare ...

[BenLurkin]

Exactly.

You have hit on the precise solution to this phony "problem".

[kenth]

Walmart could fire them. Then it wouldn't be Walmart's fault anymore.

[taxesareforever]

The unions are behind this. They tried to get legislation enacted in Washington State like Maryland did. Literature on a confidential study was "leaked" even though a judge threatened leakers with punishment. Guess what. The leaked study was printed in all the local papers and no punishment. What a surprise.

[Roverman2K]

You guys need to examine Walmart a bit better, its not some success story, its a leech on our society, they have a cult mentality and the stores are plain dirty and remind me of Kmart circa 1989, Its the wrong direction and is forcing cheap junk as a norm, not to mention the sweetheart deal they pull with the commies in china, you all cry about yahoo and google not doing the right thing. Walmart knows its low price advantage is due to slave labor and they do not care. They use it as their advantage over the targets and other competitors.

[VeniVidiVici]

Here is an interesting article on how the state of Ohio cut its own throat on Medicare

I'm also willing to bet that given Medicare's extremely lenient elibility criteria that the state of Ohio (and Maryland) probably have some of their own employees on Medicare.

[308MBR]

You got that right.

I could go to Ohio, and with a half days research in the state's records show five lifelong welfare recipients who have cost the state at least that much, PLUS what their criminal children have done.

Get off of Wal Mart. They are just selling Chinese crap cheaper than anyone else, and they are enabled to do so by keeping their expenses low. Nobody is forced to work there.

[pepsionice]

There are two sides to this story. Walmart got smart and operated giant warehouse operations...nothing fancy...hired minimum wage people...hired people over 50 years old...bought products as cheap as they could...and simply got aggressive on sales. Everyone loves Walmart because it has everything you'd need...its clean...and its organized.

The other side of Walmart is that they are a cutthroat operation and force vendors to make serious budget considerations to get their product in the store. They don't want unions because that hints of cost increases. They don't want to mess with medical costs because it adds on to the budget. They don't want alot of sick employees because they can't afford sick leave.

In Ohio's case...they ought to ask themselves about all the other companies in the state...who don't provide healthcare...and if the state has other issues.

[tcrlaf]

EXACTLY...
When O'Bannon passed HoosierHealth in Indiana, it became very clear, very fast that low-income workers would get MUCH better care by going to the state program, as private small employers couldn't hope to offer those kind of benefits at that price!!

[tcrlaf]

***You guys need to examine Walmart a bit better, its not some success story, its a leech on our society***
Yeah, but Democrat Cosco and Dem Senator Owned Target aren't??

A long time ago, a guy named Sears came up with a better way. Several Decades later, a guy named SAM came up with a better way. And that, IS the American Way...

Don't like it? Come up with a better way, that provides product faster, better, cheaper.......

[Coleus]

August 11, 2005
Taxes insure retail employees
New Jersey's taxpayers are footing the health insurance bill for employees of some of New Jersey's largest retailers, including Wal-Mart and Home Depot, a new study shows.

 

August 14, 2005
Subsidizing retailers - Editorial
WAL-MART, Home Depot, ShopRite and a score of other large companies in New Jersey are padding their profits on the backs of taxpayers