Thursday morning, Walmart Supercenter in Stockton will receive a giant bill
from taxpayers, representing the escalating costs individuals and small
businesses pay for Walmart’s exploitation of a loophole in the Affordable Care
Act (ACA).
The Stockton Walmart is the second stop on a statewide tour by a new
coalition of doctors, nurses, health care advocates, and workers who are
taxpayers who have come together to make California to be the first in the
nation to close the “Walmart Loophole.” After launching in Sacramento last
Friday, the tour is traveling the state to draw attention to what the loophole
costs taxpayers and demand lawmakers pass AB 880 (Gomez) to ensure Walmart and
other large employers pay their fair share for healthcare.
Who:
Stockton-area workers who are taxpayers
What/When:
10:30 AM – Taxpayers gather in front of Walmart to share information about
what’s at stake for taxpayers if California doesn’t close the “Walmart
Loophole.”
11:00 AM – Taxpayers present giant “invoice” representing health care costs
individuals and small businesses pay when Walmart dumps workers onto
state-funded Medi-Cal. Demand that the retail giant pay its fair share for
health care.
Where:
Walmart Supercenter
3223 East Hammer Lane
Stockton, CA 95212
Visuals:
- Giant invoice and graph shows escalating costs for taxpayers
- Taxpayers provide shoppers with flyers
The Walmart Loophole encourages the state’s biggest employers to evade
federal penalties for failing to provide employees with health care under the
ACA.
Already taxpayers foot an estimated $32 million in health care bills for
Walmart’s practice of paying employees so little they qualify for the state-run
health care program for the poor, elderly, and disabled. That cost will
skyrocket unless lawmakers adopt AB 880.
A new report from UC Berkeley says if California doesn’t act, large employers
like Walmart and other large retail and restaurant companies could dump nearly
400,000 workers onto taxpayer-paid Medi-Cal by 2019 by slashing workers’ hours
and wages.