Wal-Mart focusing on more affordable health care

After years of being "associated with stingy health care as much as low prices," Wal-Mart appears to be offering better health insurance plans to its workers. (Source: "A Health Plan for Wal-Mart: Less Stinginess," NY Times, Nov. 13, 2007.) "Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, provides insurance to 100,000 more workers than it did just three years ago--and it is now easier for many to sign up for health care at Wal-Mart than at its rival, Target, whose reputation glows in comparison."

Wal-Mart is also exploring ways to make health care more affordable. The company will soon offer 2,400 generic prescription drugs to employees for $4 a month, a program it offers in a more limited form to its customers. The company is also "considering weight-loss clinics in its 4,000 stores and is toying with the idea of selling health insurance, hoping to finally bring coverage within reach of most Americans." These changes have quieted some of Wal-Mart's critics. Andrew L. Stern, whose Service Employees International Union has frequently attacked Wal-Mart on this issue, now concedes that "there is clearly a focus on covering more people."