How about Costco. Even if it costs you more.
"Burt Flickinger, managing director of consulting firm Strategic Marketing, estimates that Wal-Mart spends 70 percent less per employee on all benefits, including health care and pension plans, than unionized retailers. Union shops, which include supermarkets and wholesale clubs, pay anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 in all benefits per full-time employee."
"Wal-Mart's benefits costs jumped to $4.2 billion this year, from $2.8 billion in 2002, and the company noted that its workers are getting sicker than the national average, particularly with obesity-related diseases.
At the same time, the company acknowledged the current insurance plan is unaffordable to many people. In fact, less than half of Wal-Mart employees are on company insurance, compared with more than 80 percent at Costco Wholesale Corp.
David West, executive director for The Center for a Changing Workforce, a nonprofit research group, says the company's new health care alternative -which lets employees pay between 40 percent and 60 percent less in premiums than under the current plan - is inadequate because it still has a $1,000 deductible. Costco's deductible is $200."
"Critics should not underestimate Wal-Mart's ability to come out ahead. It has grown to be the world's largest company by its ability to react to changes quickly. The company, which once only sold American-made goods, is now buying billions of dollars worth of merchandise in China, finding the cheapest goods to lower costs."