So it turns out that I have been living under a rock the past week and did not hear about the Walmart vs. Shank story until yesterday when Walmart reversed its position. For those of you who have been living under a rock as well, here is a recap:
Ms. Shank signed up for Walmart’s health plan which contains a clause that states that Walmart may recoup money from an employee for medical expenses if said employee collects damages from an injury suit.
Ms. Shank was enrolled in Walmart’s health plan for about 3 months when she was in a car accident that put her in a wheelchair and caused brain damage which took most of her short term memory.
Walmart paid about $470,000 for her health care.
The Shank family sued the trucking company responsible for her accident and received a $1 million settlement.
Walmart then sued the Shank family to recover their costs for her health care. They just decided yesterday to reverse their position.
Now I know that all of the blogs and comments on various news stories are ripping on Walmart for wanting the money. Everyone seems to be considering the age old question of who needs it more… a disabled woman, or a company with a net profit of around $11 billion. My background in philosophy and my own moral beliefs tell me that the woman obviously wins. But there is so much more to consider here…
Last year Walmart paid $5 BILLION to cover their US health care costs. They provide health insurance policies for full time workers after six months and part time workers after 12 months. I hate to argue this point, but I would guess that the majority of these employees were previously uninsured and are now even able to provide health insurance for their children and spouses.
I hate to stereotype, but there is this American mentality that health insurance should be covered and paid for by employers… and this lack of social responsibility concerning how much YOUR health care REALLY COSTS. Yes I believe that our country will remain better off the less that the government is involved in our health care, and that employers should continue to be offered tax breaks and rewards for providing employees with insurance coverage. However, I also believe that everyone should get more involved in staying healthly, researching their health insurance costs, and paying more out of their own pocket for health care… cause unfortunately when it doesn’t hit YOUR POCKETBOOK, you don’t seem to care how much it costs.
Now I am not saying that Walmart should be entitled to receive all of the money back for Ms. Shanks health care. However I think that we need to consider more about what it means for a company (in our capitalist society) to pay $470,000 dollars for a worker who will never work for that company ever again. As much as we want to make Walmart out to be the big bad wolf, I imagine that situations like this, and the fact their health insurance premiums are increasing anywhere from 8-15% every year (if not more), make them reconsider how their health insurance policies are offered.
So is your company entitled to part of your health or disability settlement??? I would have to argue that in some ways yes they are. If nothing else they are entitled to a big fat thank you letter from you and your family. Even though the Shank family has a long road ahead of them, they should be thankful that at least part of it has been paved by a company that offered their family a health plan and paid $470,000 of Ms. Shanks health care costs.
Walmart made the right choice in reversing their decision to take money from the Shank’s settlement, situations like this need to be considered separately within their policy due to the terrible circumstances surround this case.
However, Walmart has to set a precedent, and I think they did exactly that. They maintained that they’re entitled to the money, but allowed the Shank family to keep the settlement.
I regret that this precedent had to be set in such terrible circumstance, however I applaud Walmart for the decisions that were made.
