Disney will stop offering company medical coverage to U.S. employees’ spouses who have access to health insurance through their own employers, a change reported to affect thousands of people while leaving coverage for employees’ other dependents unchanged.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The Walt Disney Company is changing its employee health benefits in a move that could remove thousands of workers’ spouses from company-sponsored medical plans if those spouses have access to insurance through their own jobs.
The new eligibility restriction is part of changes associated with Disney’s internal “Total Rewards” benefits system and comes as the company cites rising healthcare expenses, shifting business needs and broader changes across the benefits industry.
According to Business Insider, Disney will “no longer offer medical insurance plans to US employees’ spouses if their spouses have jobs that provide such coverage.”
The change specifically targets spouses who can enroll in medical insurance through their own employers. Employees’ children and other eligible dependents will not be affected by the new restriction.
“Employees’ other dependents won’t be impacted,” Business Insider reported.
The number of spouses ultimately losing eligibility has not been publicly detailed by Disney in the material provided, but the AV Club reported that the policy will remove “thousands” from the company’s plans.
The outlet characterized the consequences as potentially falling most heavily on lower-paid and hourly Disney employees whose spouses may be forced to move to more expensive workplace plans with different coverage.
Disney’s decision will kick “thousands” off the company’s plans and force them to pay more for inferior coverage, which will “likely impact lower-paid workers and hourly employees most,” according to the AV Club.
The outlet tied the health-benefit change to Disney’s new Total Rewards program.
“It’s all part of Disney’s employee loyalty program, ‘Total Rewards,’ a new internal benefits system that allows those who make that Disney magic possible to experience the wonder of a Disney price hike,” the AV Club wrote.
Disney, however, attributed the change to financial and operational pressures affecting employer-sponsored healthcare.
“Like many companies, we’re navigating a number of factors, including rising healthcare costs, evolving company needs, and shifts across the industry,” Disney said in an internal memo explaining the benefits changes.
Employer health plans sometimes impose what are commonly known as working-spouse restrictions, under which a spouse may be excluded from coverage or charged an additional fee when health insurance is available through that spouse’s own employer.
Disney’s new policy goes further than simply adding a surcharge by making spouses with qualifying employer-provided coverage ineligible for the Disney medical plan, according to the reports.
That could require affected households to maintain coverage through two different employers rather than keeping the entire family on a single Disney plan.
The financial impact will depend on the premiums, deductibles, provider networks and other terms available through each spouse’s employer. While some families may have access to comparable coverage, others could face higher out-of-pocket costs or changes in doctors and healthcare networks.
The policy does not eliminate spousal coverage altogether. Spouses who do not have access to medical insurance through their own employment would not fall under the restriction described in the reports.
The change also does not affect other dependents covered by Disney employees’ plans.
Disney’s decision comes as employers nationwide continue confronting rising healthcare costs, one of the reasons cited directly by the company in its internal communication.
For Disney employees whose spouses have their own employer-sponsored insurance, however, the policy represents a significant change in how families will be permitted to structure their medical coverage under the company’s new benefits system.
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