Letter: Health insurance that’s valuable

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 | 8:44 a.m.

A Sun editorial last month that criticized Wal-Mart's health insurance policy did not present all of the facts. Here is some additional information to consider:

About 90 percent of our associates have health coverage either through Wal-Mart, through a spouse's or parent's plan, or through a retirement plan. This is because two-thirds of our associates are students, second-income providers or retirees who may have coverage through another source.

Wal-Mart provides health insurance for as little as $15.25 per paycheck for a single associate and $66.25 for an entire family. And while employees of other industries are being forced to pay more for health benefits, Wal-Mart is actually increasing the company's contributions to our associates' premiums and adding immunization programs to coverage plans for 2005.

It should also be noted that unlike many health plans, Wal-Mart's plan has no financial "cap," meaning that if an associate or a family member's illness costs millions to treat, Wal-Mart covers it. Thousands of people line up for jobs at Wal-Mart and our turnover rate is one-third below the industry average for retail, so clearly our associates find value in working here.

SEAN EVANS

Editor's note: The writer is one of three district managers for Wal-Mart in Las Vegas.