Wal-Mart drops insurance coverage for some part-time workers

Wal-Mart Stores will cease offering health insurance coverage to employees who work less than 30 hours a week, likely pushing many of those workers to healthcare exchanges created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Wal-Mart follows several other major retailers who also have cut health benefits for part-time workers.

Sally Welborn, the company's senior vice president of global benefits, announced the change in a post Tuesday on the company's blog. The move will affect about 2% of Wal-Mart's 1.3 million workers in the U.S., or about 26,000 employees, she wrote, noting that executives at the company “don't make these decisions lightly.”

In addition, Welborn wrote that the company will raise its premiums for full-time workers. For example, monthly premiums for the company's cheapest and most widely used plan will increase 19%, from $18.40 to $21.90.

The decision to eliminate coverage for part-timers isn't unusual among large retailers. Target, Home Depot, Walgreen Co. and other big chains have made similar changes to their coverage. Wal-Mart has been cutting coverage eligibility for part-time workers over the last four years, according to a spokesman.

Wal-Mart associates will be directed to HealthCompare, a third-party service that assists individuals in finding health insurance on an exchange or directly from insurers. The changes will be outlined in a letter that will be mailed out to employees, said the Wal-Mart spokesman. Low-income individuals who purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace can qualify for subsidies.

David Howard, a professor of health policy at Emory University, said most part-time workers at Wal-Mart would likely qualify for “generous subsidies.”

Howard acknowledged that some bronze plans do have high deductibles, but affected employees were likely paying high deductibles when they had coverage through Wal-Mart.

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