Wal-Mart Throws Supports Employer-Mandated Health Insurance

Wal-Mart, a large company that has been criticized in the past for its less than generous employee benefits, has now embraced President Barack Obama’s call for mandate directed at large employers that would make it a legal responsibility to provide health insurance for their workers.

The decision comes as a shock to many observers. The turn could infuse just the right amount of momentum to President Obama’s campaign to create broader reforms to the nation’s health care system.

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States. Its new announcement was made in a letter that was sent to congressional and administration officials on June 29.

An excerpt from the letter said, “We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage.” It went on to say, “Any alternative to an employer mandate should not create barriers to hiring entry-level employees.”

The above actually referred to a number of proposals that Congress has made that would make it the responsibility of employers to pay Medicaid costs for new employees. Critics of the new plan suggest that such a move would discourage the hiring of low-income people.

The letter was also signed by Andrew L. Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a group that has more than a million members and counts more U.S. health workers than any other union in the U.S. Another signer was John Podesta, the head of Obama’s transition team, and president of the Center for American Progress.

Two distinct aspects of the letter were cited for their possible contribution to the new mandate. First, it would provide a way for Wal-Mart to improve its image regarding worker treatment. Second, it would bolster the President’s strategy to change the American health care system.

The letter suggested that Wal-Mart and SEIU’s enthusiasm for an employer mandate could fizzle out if the final legislation does not also include a component to ensure that the means to deliver health care are kept at the lowest costs possible. “Support for a mandate also requires the strongest possible commitment to rein in health care costs,” it said.