Wal-Mart, Setting an Example

By Kathy Yi, Healthy Communities Partnership Associate

With its storied history as a “problem employer”, Wal-Mart seems an unlikely model for healthy employer practices. But that may be just what the retail giant is aiming to become.

What changes has Wal-Mart made after experiencing two aggressive anti-Wal-Mart campaigns and a drop in stock of 27 percent from the year 2000 and to late 2005?

First, as other firms are scaling back or eliminating employee benefits like health coverage, Wal-Mart has been expanding it. It has also put into practice many innovations that promise higher quality and more efficient care such as digital records, partnerships with prestigious organizations such as the Mayo Clinic, and specific projects that target costly health problems such as obesity and premature births. The wait to enroll in its employee health plan was reduced from two years to one year for part-time employees and to six months for full-time employees. Wal-Mart also conducted comprehensive research on its own personnel, finding their needs for more choice and especially for low-cost emergency coverage options. Wal-Mart responded with a menu of deductibles, co-payments, and maximum out-of-pocket costs. Wal-Mart also focused on specific initiatives such as “Life with Baby,” a project aimed at reducing premature births. Wal-Mart’s efforts and accomplishment of a health care plan with a shorter waiting period before a new employee is eligible and lower premiums have been impressive. Although it still falls short of the comprehensive care that President Obama says he wants for Americans, one of the world’s largest retailers has overcome enormous challenges to become a health policy success story.

Wal-Mart has been expanding its health image beyond employee benefits, pioneering the $4 generic prescription drug just a few years ago, during the height of the national debate about that benefit in Medicare.

But most notable among Wal-Mart’s health awakenings may be its recent campaign to offer more healthful foods and its push that its suppliers do the same. First Lady Michelle Obama recently commended the low-priced retail giant for its efforts, calling it “a huge victory for folks all across this country” and said it has the “potential to transform the marketplace.” Wal-Mart’s plan is to make thousands of its packaged food items more healthful and affordable by 2015; build more stores in underserved areas and increase its charitable donations to nutrition programs. The plan also includes reducing sodium and sugar in some foods, lowering prices on produce and product labeling to enable customers more easily to identify healthful items. Despite early skepticism, some labor groups have adopted a more open view toward Wal-Mart’s new efforts.

Several smaller food companies have made similar efforts for more healthful food products. But as the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart stands in a unique position to influence the practices of its more than 60,000 suppliers. So these moves could be a tipping point in the battle for healthier communities.

For more information about Wal-Mart’s new plan for healthier foods, click here.

For more information about Wal-Mart and their employee health-care, click here.