Wal-Mart Public Advertising Campaign Will Highlight Employee Health Care

Wal-Mart on Monday will launch a television public advertising campaign to highlight its employee health insurance plan and “its record as an employer and corporate citizen,” the AP/New York Times reports. The ads aim to counter criticism from union-supported groups that claim Wal-Mart pays low-wages and pushes employees into public health care programs, among other allegations. Wal-Mart last year also was the target of two unsuccessful efforts by lawmakers in Maryland and Chicago that would have required the company to spend a fixed percentage of payroll on workers’ health insurance and raise wages, respectively. The Maryland law was overturned by a federal court. According to the AP/Times, union-funded groups also have “recruited national Democratic figures to back their calls for higher wages and better health care at Wal-Mart,” including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards. One of the ads features positive facts about Wal-Mart’s private insurance for its 1.3 million U.S. employees, such as an employee health plan that costs $23 per month. Wal-Mart spokesperson David Tovar said, “This campaign is part of a long-term effort to inform the public about the company’s positive impact on communities, including some of our core values like affordable health care.” The ads will be launched on national broadcast and cable stations as well as selected individual markets and run for an undetermined period of time. The AP/Times reports that the union-backed group WakeUpWalMart.com says the ad campaign shows that the company’s bottom line is being damaged by a worsening public reputation (AP/New York Times, 1/7).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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