Since the fine on companies for not providing health insurance is less than giving employees that benefit, the plan surely must be that Americans are dependent on government for their health care.
[typography font="Ubuntu Condensed" size="24" size_format="px" color="darkred"]Walmart’s New Health Care Policy Shifts Burden To Medicaid, Obamacare[/typography]
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.
Read the rest of the article at HuffPo.
Business can never thrive, therefore not create jobs, as long as government is in the way. For a list of over-burdening mandates and taxes, visit the NFIB.
Which Business Face Potential Penalties?
Businesses with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents (FTEs) face potential employer mandate penalties. In this context, a full-time employee is one who works 120 hours per month or more – roughly 30 hours per week. In counting toward 50, each 120 hours per month of part-time labor comprises one FTE.So do owners with 50 or more FTs or FTEs in multiple businesses.
If an owner has several different businesses, they may or may not be treated as a consolidated group under the Tax Code. If they are treated as consolidated, then the full-timers and FTEs in the multiple businesses will be added together and treated as one business in determining whether the employee count is 50 or more.Penalties are calculated one way if you don’t provide coverage.
How Much Are The Penalties?
If a business does not provide insurance and if at least one employee receives federal insurance subsidies in the exchange, the business will pay $2,000 per employee (minus the first 30). Example: a business with 50 employees, two of whom are subsidized, would pay $40,000 = $2,000 x (50 – 30). To qualify for subsidies, an employee must meet two
criteria, described below.They’re calculated another way if you do provide coverage.
If a business does provide insurance, and if at least one employee receives insurance subsidies, the business will pay $3,000 per subsidized employee OR $2,000 per employee (minus the first 30) whichever is less. So a providing business with two subsidized employees would be fined $6,000. With 14 or more subsidized employees (above the tipping point for the formula), the penalty for a 50-employee firm would be $40,000.Employees must meet two criteria to get subsidies.
What Determines Whether An Employee Qualifies For Subsidies?
To qualify for subsidies, an employee must meet two criteria. First, his or her household income must be less than 400% of the federal poverty level ($89,400 for a family of four in 2011). Second, the employee’s portion of the insurance premium must exceed 9.5% of household income.The mandate discourages business growth and job creation.
How Will The Employer Mandate Affect The Economy?
The mandate makes it extremely expensive to cross the 50-employee threshold. For example, a midsized restaurant that goes from 49 to 50 employees will face a $40,000 per year penalty. A business can avoid the penalties by firing employees, by not hiring new ones, by replacing full-timers with part-timers, or by outsourcing. Estimating the costs of hiring and expanding will be complex and confusing.
Liar.
How many are already financially dependent on government? If you add Social Security, Medicare and unemployment benefits to Medicaid, food stamps, et al, almost half of America. We have become an ‘Entitlement Nation’. The plan?
I am blown away that people are surprised by this. Did they really think that big corporations that have provided healthcare to people who are not normally covered would continue to do so? They did so because otherwise these people could not get healthcare and it was in the best interest of the corporation that their employees stay healthy.
The goverment has just handed them their OUT on a golden platter.
This is the beginning. Every large corporation is going to find a way to get their people off the corporate plans and onto the public doles. And WHY NOT? It’s been provided as an option.
This is just the beginning.
Hunh. When did you get all these new doowoopy things?
I feel this urge to use them all…
Preferably just once. I wonder why it’s duplicating…
Oh! Don’t double click. Just a single. Ok… I’ll leave your comments now…
It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t… but less expensive if you don’t. So… it’s like herding cats.
As I have stated from the beginning – the gov will collect for both Not providing and for not having, a win win for doing nothing just like most insurance we are forced to pay for
Oh, damn straight they’ll collect either way; they’re the government!
This is a plan to go to nationaized health care. Businesses will stop offering health care, everyone will go into a govt plan and the govt will eventually just make it into nationalized health care.
That was the plan all along.
We are doomed
Cause I love snowmen
The Plan encompasses more than just healthcare, I think.
Well, it was a pretty good run while it lasted. I’m going to miss my country. Lucky I won’t be around for the final failure It didn’t really take too long, from Wilson’s Presidency to Obama, the death throes of Rome took far longer.
Wonder if I’ll get one last fight
or if I will die from the government withholding health care?
Probably the latter, I’m sorry to say. But you’re not alone; Mike and I are right there with you.
In your comment section, he looks like he’s dancing on the angels’ halos.
This makes me think of Peanuts Christmas Music…
Makes me think of Snoopy -and the others- dancing while Charlie Brown tries to ‘direct’ them.
Since my ex works for Walmart, I can say that he’s NEVER been denied benefits OR full-time employment. This “internal document” that keeps circulating reeks of left-wing conspiracy to me.
Does Walmart try to keep employee pay low? Yep. Just like most companies. Do they try to provide the bare minimum of benefits as required by law? Yep. Just like most companies. Is anyone forced to work there? Nope. Just like any other job.
They’re just the easiest target. Which reminds me: Target went through this for years before Walmart became the “thing”. Hell, I remember when unions were boycotting Target in protest over their lack of unionized employees.
As long as the government continues to over-reach and place extraordinary burdens on major employers, we’re going to see a huge backlash by these employers…unfortunately it’ll be against their employees. Or rather, it’ll be the employees who lose in the worst way.
Nobama is an asshole. Yes, OBAMA, YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE! And a Congress backing his plans is full of even dumber assholes.
I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except so many businesses are releases statements of the same nature. And this is new hires who work less than 30 hours a week.
And yes, obama’s an asshole.
‘s gonna get worse
everybody’s doin it!
As an aside, I took the five grandkids in and gave them their choices of the little stuffed animals (plushies, not taxidermied) that Linda Lou has collected over the decades and then lost interest in. Well, Karson ( I wish those kids could spell better than me) grabbed Linda Lou's Christmas decoration reindeer, the one that sings that awful Grandma got run over by a reindeer, and hid it in the back of their van. Well I caught him and went to whack him lightly on the head with the soft part a la a Gibbs Slap and whompt him with the battery pack. Tears, apologies and kisses followed. No major damage but I felt like an asshole.
Merry effin’ December.
Oh, it happens! Don’t feel too bad; he still knows Grandpa loves him!
