“There is a lot of misinformation out there on this topic, and we’d like you to have the facts.”—Stop & Shop
As the United Food & Commercial Workers strike against New England’s most-unionized grocer Stop & Shop surpasses its sixth day, Stop & Shop says that providing “excellent health care for eligible associates continues to be an important part of our offer.”
Further, the company states, that there is a lot of “misinformation” on the topic of healthcare and posted a fact sheet (below) on its website.
Here are the contents of the company’s statement (in full):
Stop & Shop would pay at least 92% of health premiums for family coverage and at least 88% for individual coverage – much more than what other large retail employers pay.
The federal government pays 72% of its employees’ health premiums.
Associates would pay 9-12% of individual coverage premiums or 6-8% of family premiums (depending on the local contract) – compared to national averages of 20% for individual coverage, 28% for families (source: Kaiser Family Foundation).
Even with national health care costs increasing rapidly, associates would still pay well below the national average for health premiums.
We’ve minimized increases to only $2-$4 per week each year.
Deductibles would not increase or change – and have been a low $200-$300 since 2007.
Limited increases to prescription co-pays.
Spouses are eligible for health care coverage unless their own employer offers health care.
No proposed changes to health care providers or networks.
For Locals 371 and 919, no changes to out-of-pocket maximums; for Locals 1459, 1445 and 328, out-of-pocket maximums would match what Local 371 and 919 already have in their plan for Stop & Shop associates – which are still considerably lower than the national average.
Related: Ongoing Coverage of the UFCW Strike Against Stop & Shop
Which pieces are misinformation?