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Union Township, N.J. --- Citing a recent report by the New Jersey Policy Perspective that 589 Wal-Mart employees in New Jersey are enrolled in the state's FamilyCare program, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) criticized the company for pushing its employees' health care costs onto the New Jersey taxpayer outside a Wal-Mart store in Union Township this afternoon.
The report found that the largest, most profitable retailers in the state also have the largest number of employees and their families covered by state-run health insurance programs. Pallone believes these programs, designed to act as a safety net for low-income families, are being exploited by Wal-Mart and other large companies. The practice has cost New Jersey taxpayers upwards of $400 million in state and federal funds this year alone.
The New Jersey congressman, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, also announced plans to introduce federal legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that will require Wal-Mart and other large employers to reimburse Medicaid and state insurance programs for the cost of providing health insurance to its employees.
Pallone's legislation would require businesses with over 50 employees to reimburse publicly funded programs like Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) if the programs have to fund health care that the companies should be providing.
"It's inexcusable that large corporations like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are oftentimes relying on the American taxpayer to foot their employees' health care costs," Pallone said. "The time has come for these large companies to contribute their fair share to providing affordable health care benefits to their employees, and if they continue to refuse this basic benefit, they should be forced to reimburse government programs that pick up the bill."
In light of the New Jersey Policy Perspective report, Pallone requested the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conduct a nationwide study to determine exactly how much money large companies are costing the American taxpayer. Pallone wrote HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt today urging that HHS work with state Medicaid programs to determine the number of people who are employed by firms of more than 50 employees and who rely on public health insurance programs for their medical care. (LETTER FOLLOWS.)
The New Jersey congressman believes a detailed report would benefit Congress later this year as it is forced to cut $10 billion in Medicaid funding. The funding cut was required under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget resolution approved earlier this year by Republicans in Congress and opposed by Pallone and most Democrats.
Pallone is concerned that the problem is much worse than the New Jersey Policy Perspective report concludes since FamilyCare applicants are not required to disclose their employer. Consequently, the report only includes those applicants who actually listed their employer on the application.
In addition to finding 589 of Wal-Mart's 12,274 employees enrolled in FamilyCare, the report also found 335 of Home Depot's 12,000 employees enrolled in the New Jersey program. Last year, Wal-Mart spent $1.3 billion of its $256 billion in revenue on health care, but covered less than half of its employees. With $12 billion in profits already this year, Pallone believes Wal-Mart should provide affordable health care to all of its employees.
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