"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list"
Hey Folks,
A while back the Dispatch editorialised against Maryland's effort to force businesses (mainly Wal-Mart) to quit shifting their health care expenses onto the taxpayers. Now, Dispatch reporters have laid out evidence that may change their editors' attitude (but don't hold your breath).
It's all reprinted below, if you missed it.
Besides the joy of bashing Wal-Mart, I was particularly pleased to read:
"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list."
Isn't it interesting that our compassionate President made the effort just last week to come all the way to Cowtown Columbus to congratulate Wendy's for adopting his wonderful plan to "shaft-the-workers-out-of-health-care-and-increase-profits" !
I wonder why Wendy's wasn't mentioned until near the end of the article. Hmmmmmmm . . .
In any case, the Uke Man did his own expose' right after Bush's photo op at Wendy's Healthful Headquarters.
I've reposted it directly below this one.
- Uke Man
Wal-Mart workers costing taxpayers
Thousands depend on health-care benefits through government
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Catherine Candisky and Jeffrey Sheban
The Columbus Dispatch
Taxpayers are picking up the tab for health-care costs of more Wal-Mart workers and dependents than for any other Ohio employer, long-awaited state figures show.
And McDonald’s has the most workers and family members getting food stamps and cash assistance.
The report, released yesterday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, shows taxpayers spent millions last year providing Medicaid to 104,652 employees and family members of some of Ohio’s biggest companies.
Two businesses, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, each had more than 10,000 employees and dependents receiving benefits from Medicaid, the health-insurance program that is funded by the state and federal governments. Wal-Mart workers got an estimated $27.7 million in Medicaid; McDonald’s employees received about $25.8 million.
The report was issued a day after Wal-Mart, Ohio’s largest employer and a frequent target of complaints about low wages and benefits, said it would expand health-care coverage for its 1.3 million employees nationwide.
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, who introduced legislation last year to force large corporations to pay for employee health in- surance, called the report "a first good step in getting all the information we need" to reform the health-care system.
"When bad apples don’t pay their fair share, it’s costing taxpayers and good businesses that are providing adequate coverage for workers," the Youngstown Democrat said.
The Job and Family Services agency prepared the report after receiving requests from legislators and news organizations, including The Dispatch. Ohio is the 21 st state to produce such a list.
"Wal-Mart employees now top the Medicaid lists in 21 of 21 states that have disclosed," said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a union-supported group that pushes for reforms in Wal-Mart’s policies.
"Ohio taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the employee health-care plan of a corporation with $10 billion in annual profit," he said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said the report doesn’t tell the whole story.
"What the list doesn’t address is that Wal-Mart is actually helping Americans leave the ranks of the uninsured."
Hobbs said 7 percent of Wal-Mart employees are on public assistance when they start working for the company, but that figure falls to 3 percent after they’ve been with the company for two years.
She said Wal-Mart "stands ready to partner with elected leaders to bring about solutions to solve the health-care crisis in America."
Wal-Mart said Thursday that it would begin allowing parttime workers to enroll their children in health plans and build more than 50 in-store clinics for workers and the public.
Hobbs said three-fourths of Wal-Mart workers have private health insurance through one of the company’s 18 plans or through a spouse.
Critics say Wal-Mart’s plans are unaffordable for workers averaging $10 an hour. Some states are taking unilateral action.
Last month, Maryland became the first state to mandate that large private employers pay a fixed amount for employee health-care benefits. The new law requires companies with more than 10,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on health care. Wal-Mart is the only company that will be affected.
Ohio’s findings, like those in other states, show that many working families earn so little, they still must rely on tax-supported benefits. The data underscore how states and businesses are struggling to deal with health-care costs.
"The health-care system in this state is broken and states cannot fix this problem on their own. It’s a national problem," said Mark Rickel, spokesman for Gov. Bob Taft.
Ohio spent about $11 billion last year on Medicaid. The program covers about 1.7 million low-income children, working parents and blind and disabled Ohioans. It eats up the biggest portion of the state budget.
The burden has put a strain on state budgets across the nation. Last year, Ohio lawmakers cut 25,000 parents from Medicaid to save about $37 million for the two-year budget.
Likewise, many businesses are dealing with skyrocketing health-care costs by scaling back benefits or requiring employees to pay a higher share.
"As health-care costs rise, it’s the lowest-wage workers who are losing benefits," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, which studies health-care issues.
"I don’t think people should be surprised by what they are seeing, and they probably shouldn’t expect a lot more out of these companies. It’s hard to expect an employer to provide health-care benefits to an employee making $7 an hour."
Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list. The rate of Medicaid recipients, including dependents, came to 36 per 100 employees for Bob Evans, well above the 25 per 100 at Wal-Mart.
Bob Evans spokeswoman Tammy Roberts Myers said late yesterday that company officials hadn’t seen the report.
"It’s something we will certainly be looking at here and discussing," she said.
ccandisky@dispatch.com
jsheban@dispatch.com
A while back the Dispatch editorialised against Maryland's effort to force businesses (mainly Wal-Mart) to quit shifting their health care expenses onto the taxpayers. Now, Dispatch reporters have laid out evidence that may change their editors' attitude (but don't hold your breath).
It's all reprinted below, if you missed it.
Besides the joy of bashing Wal-Mart, I was particularly pleased to read:
"Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list."
Isn't it interesting that our compassionate President made the effort just last week to come all the way to Cowtown Columbus to congratulate Wendy's for adopting his wonderful plan to "shaft-the-workers-out-of-health-care-and-increase-profits" !
I wonder why Wendy's wasn't mentioned until near the end of the article. Hmmmmmmm . . .
In any case, the Uke Man did his own expose' right after Bush's photo op at Wendy's Healthful Headquarters.
I've reposted it directly below this one.
- Uke Man
Wal-Mart workers costing taxpayers
Thousands depend on health-care benefits through government
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Catherine Candisky and Jeffrey Sheban
The Columbus Dispatch
Taxpayers are picking up the tab for health-care costs of more Wal-Mart workers and dependents than for any other Ohio employer, long-awaited state figures show.
And McDonald’s has the most workers and family members getting food stamps and cash assistance.
The report, released yesterday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, shows taxpayers spent millions last year providing Medicaid to 104,652 employees and family members of some of Ohio’s biggest companies.
Two businesses, Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, each had more than 10,000 employees and dependents receiving benefits from Medicaid, the health-insurance program that is funded by the state and federal governments. Wal-Mart workers got an estimated $27.7 million in Medicaid; McDonald’s employees received about $25.8 million.
The report was issued a day after Wal-Mart, Ohio’s largest employer and a frequent target of complaints about low wages and benefits, said it would expand health-care coverage for its 1.3 million employees nationwide.
State Sen. Robert F. Hagan, who introduced legislation last year to force large corporations to pay for employee health in- surance, called the report "a first good step in getting all the information we need" to reform the health-care system.
"When bad apples don’t pay their fair share, it’s costing taxpayers and good businesses that are providing adequate coverage for workers," the Youngstown Democrat said.
The Job and Family Services agency prepared the report after receiving requests from legislators and news organizations, including The Dispatch. Ohio is the 21 st state to produce such a list.
"Wal-Mart employees now top the Medicaid lists in 21 of 21 states that have disclosed," said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch, a union-supported group that pushes for reforms in Wal-Mart’s policies.
"Ohio taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the employee health-care plan of a corporation with $10 billion in annual profit," he said.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Kelly Hobbs said the report doesn’t tell the whole story.
"What the list doesn’t address is that Wal-Mart is actually helping Americans leave the ranks of the uninsured."
Hobbs said 7 percent of Wal-Mart employees are on public assistance when they start working for the company, but that figure falls to 3 percent after they’ve been with the company for two years.
She said Wal-Mart "stands ready to partner with elected leaders to bring about solutions to solve the health-care crisis in America."
Wal-Mart said Thursday that it would begin allowing parttime workers to enroll their children in health plans and build more than 50 in-store clinics for workers and the public.
Hobbs said three-fourths of Wal-Mart workers have private health insurance through one of the company’s 18 plans or through a spouse.
Critics say Wal-Mart’s plans are unaffordable for workers averaging $10 an hour. Some states are taking unilateral action.
Last month, Maryland became the first state to mandate that large private employers pay a fixed amount for employee health-care benefits. The new law requires companies with more than 10,000 workers to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on health care. Wal-Mart is the only company that will be affected.
Ohio’s findings, like those in other states, show that many working families earn so little, they still must rely on tax-supported benefits. The data underscore how states and businesses are struggling to deal with health-care costs.
"The health-care system in this state is broken and states cannot fix this problem on their own. It’s a national problem," said Mark Rickel, spokesman for Gov. Bob Taft.
Ohio spent about $11 billion last year on Medicaid. The program covers about 1.7 million low-income children, working parents and blind and disabled Ohioans. It eats up the biggest portion of the state budget.
The burden has put a strain on state budgets across the nation. Last year, Ohio lawmakers cut 25,000 parents from Medicaid to save about $37 million for the two-year budget.
Likewise, many businesses are dealing with skyrocketing health-care costs by scaling back benefits or requiring employees to pay a higher share.
"As health-care costs rise, it’s the lowest-wage workers who are losing benefits," said Gary Claxton, vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, which studies health-care issues.
"I don’t think people should be surprised by what they are seeing, and they probably shouldn’t expect a lot more out of these companies. It’s hard to expect an employer to provide health-care benefits to an employee making $7 an hour."
Wendy’s and Bob Evans Farms, two Columbus companies, were near the top of Ohio’s list. The rate of Medicaid recipients, including dependents, came to 36 per 100 employees for Bob Evans, well above the 25 per 100 at Wal-Mart.
Bob Evans spokeswoman Tammy Roberts Myers said late yesterday that company officials hadn’t seen the report.
"It’s something we will certainly be looking at here and discussing," she said.
ccandisky@dispatch.com
jsheban@dispatch.com
1 Comments:
Hi Tom,
I'm so glad you posted this. I read it in Saturday's paper and felt just as you do. Keep up the great work. Sondra
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