Walgreen’s Latest Business To Reject Obama Care For Employees…More To Follow

By Joseph R. Carducci on September 18, 2013 Subscribe to Joseph R. Carducci's Feed
You are no doubt familiar with the Walgreen’s chain, right? This is the typical corner drug store that actually has the stated mission of being the first choice in health and daily living for every American. The funny thing is that with such a mission you would expect them to be embracing Obama Care with arms wide open. After all, isn’t Obama Care supposed to make everyone healthier and happier?
Certainly it is if you listen to Obama and the boys. This is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. The probably is that the reality of things is beginning to set in on those running the show…and it is far different from what they had hoped even just a few months ago.
With Obama Care set to really get itself kicked into high gear, more and more American businesses are just simply saying they do not want it. Such is the case here with Walgreen’s. Today, they have announced that their 160,000+ eligible employees will be provided with employer health insurance coverage through their own “Live Well Benefits Store.” So, instead of just having all their employees go into Obama Care directly, they are going to continue offering their own employer sponsored plan.
In doing so they are actually using an outsourced solution. This marketplace will be managed through a company called Aon Hewitt Corporate Health Exchange. The funny thing about this is that it seems to give Obama Care a kick in the face. Especially when one considers the fact that Aon Hewitt is a running or offering a ‘managed insurance marketplace where multiple carriers compete in offering employees a choice of fully insured plans.’
In other words, the private sector is responding to Obama Care by putting this together on their own. It almost seems like the individual insurance carriers are teaming up in an effort to ‘beat’ Obama Care at their own game…while still offering great plans and benefits to employees, something which Obama Care clearly does not worry about.
So far, seventeen other companies have similarly chosen to purchase health coverage through online market exchanges like this one. Just some of these other companies? They include Sears, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Yard House.
Walgreen’s will still continue to offer benefits to their employees through this plan options. They will still have co-pays as low as $5. The Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer has made it clear that this program is designed to help their employees have expanded choices in order to personalize their own health care coverage, giving them the flexibility that they need.
Of course, no one has ever talked about Obama Care from the basis of flexibility. This is because as a health care plan it is surprisingly inflexible. But what seems even more interesting to me with this is the fact that a big company like Walgreen’s is trying to get around this legal fiasco known as Obama Care. This is likely going to be something that we see even more of in the months and days ahead. The private sector is still what drives this country and economy…and they are already seeking out solutions to solve even such a difficult problem as Obama Care.
What do you you think…should these types of private marketplaces become more widespread as alternatives to the Obama Care imposed health insurance exchanges? Will you get a better plan and coverage option at such private marketplaces or through Obama Care itself?


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