Wal-Mart Spreads Gospel of High Health Costs

Wal-Mart executives are so pleased with themselves over the high-deductible health care plans they offer their workers – with deductibles up to $6,000 -- that they're actively pitching the idea to other employers. 

"The greatest incentive for health and wellness is high deductibles," Wal-Mart Vice President Tom Emerick told the Dallas Morning News. "We'll tell anybody in America how we did it and how it works." 

Emerick was in Dallas to present the plan to an audience of 300 local benefit providers and health care professionals. Most of Wal-Mart's plans have deductibles of $350 to $1,000, but some go as staggeringly high as $6,000, the paper reported.