[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 52 (Wednesday, May 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
       WAL-MART--A DISCOUNT STORE MARKING UP OUR HEALTH INSURANCE

  (Mr. WISE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, when you and I go into Wal-Mart, we are 
looking for markdowns. But I ask, ``How would you feel knowing, when 
you walk in, you're getting a markup of 30 percent on our health 
insurance because of the way that a company like Wal-Mart does 
business?''
  Mr. Speaker, this is one of our largest private employers, but yet, 
out of its half-million employees, leaves almost 250,000 without health 
insurance. What that means, according to one group, is that $480 
million of Wal-Mart's health care costs get shifted to the rest of us 
who are able to have health insurance.
  And how does that affect us? It is because 30 percent of every 
insurance premium in this country which my colleagues and I pay goes to 
pay for those who do not have health care. The 85 percent who are 
uninsured in this country are working at institutions like Wal-Mart. 
For those who are insured at Wal-Mart there is a high out-of-pocket 
cost which is hard for those making $6 and $7 an hour, and yet Wal-Mart 
disavows the Clinton health plan that would lower Wal-Mart's health 
care costs and its employees' health care costs while providing 
comprehensive guaranteed private insurance for all.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I challenge Wal-Mart to help Wal-Mart workers and 
Wal-Mart consumers for a health plan, to support a health plan, that 
has lower costs, that does not shift the costs to us consumers, and 
that is the best way to truly have a discount store offer discounts 
without marking up our health insurance.

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