Wal-Mart Improves Health Benefits

That evil Wal-Mart.

At a time when many employers are reducing health benefits, one company is taking steps to insure more of its workers.

That company also happens to be the largest employer in Wisconsin and the country.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has overhauled its health benefits this year to make health insurance more affordable for its employees. To Robert Kraig, program director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, that is a watershed event in the debate over whether employers have an obligation to provide affordable health insurance.

“For them to acknowledge it is a responsibility and to make incremental improvement is important,” Kraig said.

Or… it could be that they need to attract and retain employees too and needed to improve their compensation package to do so.