Today, Wal-Mart, the largest private employer in the country wrote a letter (along with the Center for American Progress and SEIU) to the Obama administration expressing its support for the employer mandate:
We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage, but any alternative to an employer mandate should not create barriers to hiring entry level employees….Support for a mandate also requires the strongest possible commitment to rein in health care costs.
Read the full letter HERE.
As the Hill’s Jeffery Young observes, “The decision by Wal-Mart to break away from the Chamber and its ilk marks the first visible crack in the business coalition on healthcare reform.” Indeed, Wal-Mart’s embrace of the employer mandate enhances the existing system of employer-based coverage, levels the playing field between employers and preserves the employer contribution that will help finance health care reform. The Wonk Room has much more here.
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