Once again, we can say “thanks” to a private sector that is routinely berated by the government-loving statists of the Democrat Party. It turns out that the heartless corporations, and not the big-government juggernaut of good intentions, are the ones actually doing good for Americans, their families, and their communities. In a piece of news that is tailored fit to annoy the liberal in your life, it turns out Walmart’s healthcare plans are measurably more compassionate than the stock plans offered by Obamacare.
I’ll give you a minute to fit that last thought on a bumper sticker that you can stealthily sneak onto the back window of a liberal friend’s Chevy Volt.
The Messiah President’s signature piece of legislation – often considered the Holy Grail for well-intentioned limousine liberals – fails to outperform the healthcare offerings Walmart makes available to its vast army of non-union employees. So, while liberals berate the corporation for low wages, “inadequate” healthcare options, and general callousness, just remember that working at Walmart is still better than getting something for “free” from Big Brother.
According to an article in the Washington Examiner from earlier this year, an exhaustive study comparing Walmart’s standard employee plans and Obamacare alternatives, have unequivocally proven the moral superiority of big business over big government. Walmart offers all its employees (from janitor to CEO) two standard plans (wow… no special exemptions for management? Already it looks like a better deal than Obamacare!)… And both plans have proven to be more cost effective, comprehensive, accessible, and efficient than even the most “affordable” alternatives available on healthcare.gov.
The Washington Examiner provided a wide range of examples, but the most impressive portion of the report was highlighted in regards to the insurance requirements:
Unlike Obamacare, there are no income eligibility requirements. Age and gender do not alter premium rates. The company plan is the same for all of Walmart’s 1.1 million enrolled employees and their dependents, from its cashiers to its CEO.
So while Obamacare imposes varying tiers, exemptions, and carve outs, the private sector corporation has managed to extend low cost (high quality) options to everyone with a blue vest. The cost differences were equally astounding:
The unsubsidized premium for a nonsmoking couple age 60 can cost $1,365 per month [under Obamacare] versus the Walmart cost of about $134 for the same couple.
In addition to better price, the Walmart plans provided a more comprehensive list of hospitals, doctors, and services. While free contraception might be Sandra Fluke’s primary concern, access to actual healthcare generally tops the list of priorities for average Americans.
The “news” that companies take care of their employees better than some DC Bureaucracy is highly illustrative of the private sector’s superiority in providing amicable solutions to moral and societal questions. While the left routinely trashes Walmart as being a heartless greed-machine, the company has been marching forward in providing for the people that make it run with capitalistic efficiency. It must pain the left to know that a profit-hungry giant of consumerism has somehow accomplished for its “underprivileged” workforce something big government has largely made impossible for low-income citizens: Affordable health insurance.
This, of course, is nothing surprising to capitalists and free-market advocates. The private sector thrives only when balancing the demands of consumers with a certain level of generous compensation for employees. Anyone who has run a business understands the importance of rewarding labor and value while adhering to budgets and market forces – and Walmart is no exception. Government, by comparison, does not respond to labor conditions, market values, consumer reaction, or profit motives… Which means it is directed only by the statist desires of bureaucrats and technocrats.
Business, and not government, is the key to progress in America; a fact lost on occupy-protestors, anti-corporatists, and the Democrat Party of Barack Obama. If we had a little more Walmart and a little less Government in today’s economy we might be making far more progress in putting Americans back to work, and back on the path to prosperity.