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January 24, 2004
Another Reason Not to Shop at Wal-Mart

Kevin at Calpundit points out Wal-Mart's new ad campaign. Basically they have some new commercials that show families with terrible medical problems, and show them extolling Wal-Mart for saving their children's lives by covering their medical expenses. It's all very tear-jerky.

An article in the Wall Street Journal has a slightly different take:

Wal-Mart makes new hourly workers wait six months to sign up for its benefits plan and doesn't cover retirees at all. Its deductibles range as high as $1,000, triple the norm. It refuses to pay for flu shots, eye exams, child vaccinations, chiropractic services and numerous other treatments allowed by many other companies. In many cases, it won't pay for treatment of pre-existing conditions in the first year of coverage.

http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/2003/Wal-Mart-Health-Benefits30sep03.htm

Obviously Wal-Mart is not alone in having shitty health coverage, but the hypocrisy of this ad campaign is sick. Not to mention all the other things wrong with that company's practises.

I don't personally think we'd be better off with socialized medicine, necessarily. Look at Canada and Europe, they have incredible problems administering such a system in anything like an efficient way. Last night, though, I heard a story of a woman in her mid-twenties, who has a job, who nearly bled to death in her bathtub rather than go to the hospital, because she doesn't have health insurance. Obviously, we need a system where this can't happen.

Of course, the hospital has to save someone's life, regardless of their ability to pay, but that doesn't mean they don't get a bill, and providing emergency care to stanch the flow of blood is a far cry from decent health care.

I'm rambling. Conclusion: Health care reform to ensure that everyone has access to more than simply life-saving care, but not necessarily a completely state-funded program.

Oh, and fuck Wal-Mart.

Comments

Previous Comments

Hmmm, should I comment on Wal-Mart or socialized medicine?

I've been on a Wal-Mart rant lately, so I'll take this opportunity to throw another stone. They really do suck. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that have no choice but to shop at Wal-Mart for financial or other reasons. There are communities where the existence of Wal-Mart has forced most of the other merchants out of business; the ones that remain must charge higher prices than Wal-Mart. Hopefully people that do have a choice in where to shop will start taking these stories to heart.

Reminds me a conversation I had recently with my mom about buying eco-friendly and/or local products. She drives an electric car and supports environmentalism but hadn't yet made the connnection between buying from local independents rather than mega stores such as Wal-Mart. A huge percentage of our country's fuel consumption is spent on the transportation fuels used to ensure we have things like fresh Florida oranges in Montana year-round.

Yeah, the non-Wal-Mart options are more expensive, but an increase in their market share would likely enable them to eventually lower their prices and compete with the giants. Or, so you'd think.

Either way, it's an investment in our freedom of choice, and so many other things...

First, I would like to bring up the fact that using profane language does not make a person sound professional. It may show that they are angry, but it is not necessary. I would hardly blame Wal-Mart for improper Health Insurrance. They do their part by providing what is needed. If an employee is not satisfied with the amount of money they earn, then they should take a larger step and receive a higher education to get the wages they want.
Not everyone can be the boss, and not everyone gets what they want. For every one person you fight for, your hurting someone elses life that perhaps needs more attention than the one you were fighting for in the first place. However people do get what they deserve, and bashing someone or something without the facts means that you will surely get what's coming to you too.

Ha ha.. What a load of crap. And with some kind of weird threat at the end too! Nice. I would respond to the points you make, but you didn't make any.