Wal-Mart to the rescue

[EVT1]

www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/10/06/Walmart-to-help-customers-sign-up-for-healthcare/4341412644485/

     Medicare open enrollment begins next week. Since most Walmart shoppers and employees make less than $40,000 a year, it is likely many of them will be eligible for Medicare.

 We should definitely reduce taxes on these companies- what a nightmare

[Blonde Granny]

www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/10/07/medicare-open-enrollment-how-to-shop-smart/

Open enrollment is only for Medicare Part D (drug plan) and Medicare Advantage plans.  Medicare A & B has very different rules.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Wal-Mart Workers Are Furious That The Company Is Cutting Health Benefits And Raising Premiums  finance.yahoo.com/news/wal-mart-workers-furious-company-185900419.html

Wal-Mart is raising health insurance premiums and cutting benefits for thousands of workers.

Starting January 1, bi-weekly premiums for Wal-Mart's most popular insurance plans will increase 19% to $21.90 for the company's entire U.S. workforce. The company also will stop providing health insurance to part-time employees who work less than 30 hours a week, which will affect approximately 30,000 employees, or 2% of the company's total U.S. workforce.

Apparently Target and Home Depot did something similar recently. 

[EVT1]

I'm sure the part timers will be OK since they can just stay on their parents plans

[Value Buy]

Oct 13, 2014 14:59:49 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

I'm sure the part timers will be OK since they can just stay on their parents plans

Even if you are 35 years old pushing carts, and missing some teeth?

[EVT1]

Part time employees are just high school and college kids doing entry level jobs- haven't you heard?

[EVT1]

So you are saying reality doesn't fit the message coming from the right?

I am with you- I wouldn't set foot in a Walmart.  Those people are some of the greediest shitbags on the planet.

[NoNamePerson]

I'm confused but does this article say that qualifying for MEDICARE is based on income and not reaching age 65? That's the way I read it. I had to read the last paragraph twice. I'm slow and old so maybe I am missing something here.     I'm going to reread it again so if I'm wrong - blame it on old age!! 

This is the last paragraph:

Medicare open enrollment begins next week. Since most Walmart shoppers and employees make less than $40,000 a year, it is likely many of them will be eligible for Medicare.

[EVT1]

Oct 13, 2014 19:23:07 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

I'm confused but does this article say that qualifying for MEDICARE is based on income and not reaching age 65? That's the way I read it. I had to read the last paragraph twice. I'm slow and old so maybe I am missing something here.     I'm going to reread it again so if I'm wrong - blame it on old age!! 

This is the last paragraph:

Medicare open enrollment begins next week. Since most Walmart shoppers and employees make less than $40,000 a year, it is likely many of them will be eligible for Medicare.

Very possible the article has confused Medicare and Medicaid- especially when you consider the stellar journalistic talent out there today.

It makes much more sense and there have been studies on how much just one store costs taxpayers- worse Walmart used to hand out information on these benefits. Awful nice of us taxpayers to provide them with an army of marginally healthy, housed and fed employees that they do not have to pay enough to survive on their own.

[Blonde Granny]

I think the OP was an attempt to paint WMT as the lowest of the low companies. In essence what they are doing is letting part time employees buy their own health insurance thru whatever means of Obamacare they qualify for. But, if they are under the age of 65 or not disabled and on SS disability, they do not qualify for Medicare.

Medicaid yes, Medicare NO

[NoNamePerson]

I agree with the confusion between Medicare and Medicaid and sloppy reporting. Drives me up the wall     I just wonder how many people go running to WallyWorld to sign up for Medicare based on their income - hell the people they hire to do the signing up probably will give it a try 

[EVT1]

Oct 13, 2014 19:36:47 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I think the OP was an attempt to paint WMT as the lowest of the low companies. In essence what they are doing is letting part time employees buy their own health insurance thru whatever means of Obamacare they qualify for. But, if they are under the age of 65 or not disabled and on SS disability, they do not qualify for Medicare.

Medicaid yes, Medicare NO

They do a fine job of that themselves- they need no help from me.

They are without a doubt the most costly company when it comes to taxpayers paying for their employees- but lowest of the low- there are much worse companies in contention for that- and they pay their employees just fine- it is the customers that they prefer screwing- such as banks, phone and cable companies, etc.

In fact it is bass-ackwards:  Walmart screws their employees, vendors, etc. in order to provide cheap junk for customers, and the banks, phone and cable pay better- at least for the positions they cannot outsource- and steal from the customers instead.

Last time I called Comcast it was such a sad experience for me and the guy in India- he knew English- sort of- but all of the sentences were ordered wrong and he had a heavy accent- and the whole time the guy was trying to upgrade me and not fix the billing problem that I discovered- namely paying about $20 a month more for an outlet and box I did not have. 

The minute Google fiber is available cable can suck it.  Enjoy that monopoly while you have it assholes.