Wal-Mart responds to its critics with new health-insurance plans for employees

A new health plan from Wal-Mart offers employees more coverage and cheap prescriptions, but some critics say the plan remains too expensive for many, reports The New York Times. (Photo of Wal-Mart pharmacy by Jay Westcott of The Associated Press.)

The plan "will look a lot like that offered by many other American companies, but with some twists that even longtime critics described as innovative," writes Michael Barbaro. As the nation's largest private employer — and a key fixture in rural America — Wal-Mart had drawn criticism for the health plans it offered employees. The new plan features premiums as low as $5 per month and makes 2,400 generic drugs available at $4 a prescription.

The low premiums come with annual deductibles as high as $2,000, a hefty price for the many employees that make less than $20,000 a year, Barbaro writes. And some plans include waiting periods that could last a year for new employees. Workers can customize the plan to their needs in one of 50 ways, such as paying higher monthly premiums to reduce the annual deductible. Currently, about 125,000 Wal-Mart employees (about 10 percent) do not have any health care coverage. About 636,000 already receive coverage from Wal-Mart. (Read more)