As of January 1, 2007, Wal-Mart will be offering its hires a choice between two new health care plans, both of which emphasize lower premiums and high deductibles. While spokesmen for the retailer claim that the new plan will benefit employees by keeping their costs low, the union-backed group Wake Up Wal-Mart accused the retailer of reducing employee benefits and forcing its workers to obtain public health care, thus passing the company's costs along to the American taxpayer.
See "Wal-Mart to Shrink Options For New Hires' Health Care", Ylan Q. Mui and Amy Joyce, The Washington Post, September 27, 2006