On February 23, WakeUpWalMart.com released a shocking new study of Wal-Mart’s health care crisis entitled, "America Pays, Wal-Mart Saves." Among the key findings are:

• Wal-Mart health care spending actually dropped in the latest public filing with the Internal Revenue Service (from 2003-2004);
• In 2005, nearly 300,000 Wal-Mart workers and their family members depended on taxpayer-funded public health care at an estimated total cost to American taxpayers of $1.37 billion.
• In 2005, Wal-Mart failed to provide company health care to 57% of its workforce, leaving over 775,000 Wal-Mart workers and their families without company health care;
• The Wal-Mart health care crisis will cost taxpayers an estimated $9.1 billion over the next five years;

On February 28, WakeUpWalMart.com released additional research, including a state-by-state analysis of the Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis. Below is a listing of the top 5 most affected states.

State	2005 Estimated Total Cost
Texas	$134,161,466
Florida	$80,523,268
Ohio	$70,882,417
New York	$61,497,167
Pennsylvania	$59,721,445

You can download the full updated report today.

The report paints a disturbing picture of the scope and cost America bears because of the Wal-Mart health care crisis. Additional findings include:

• Despite Wal-Mart claiming only 5% of its workforce is on public health care assistance, based on the available data, Wal-Mart has an average of 13 percent of its workforce on public health care assistance. The 13 percent figure is 3.25 times higher than the national average of 4 percent for all employers and 2.6 times higher than the 5 percent average Wal-Mart states publicly.
• In Georgia, for example, nearly 10,000 children of Wal-Mart workers are enrolled in the state PeachCare program - nearly 14 times more than any other employer.
• Nationwide, it is estimated that 183,382 Wal-Mart workers and 112,768 family members of Wal-Mart workers are forced onto taxpayer-funded public health care assistance. The total number of Wal-Mart workers and family members who experience the Wal-Mart health care crisis is 296,150.
• For 2005, if Wal-Mart had provided affordable health care to its workers thus ending the Wal-Mart Health Care crisis, Americans would have an extra $1.38 billion in additional funding for national and state health care programs. In terms of actual programs, the $1.38 billion in tax dollars currently going to subsidize Wal-Mart could be used to reinstate proposed funding cuts in the 2007 budget of over $1 billion in health care grants to states.

Take Action Today

It's time for all of us to stop the Wal-Mart health care crisis.

Americans need to know the truth. Wal-Mart is spending millions of dollars on high-priced lobbyists and public relations specialists to deceive the American public. We are fighting back with the truth.

Join WakeUpWalMart.com's Rapid Response Network and write a letter to your local paper today letting your community know about the new data on Wal-Mart's health care crisis.

We need you to help fight back against Wal-Mart's war rooms and corporate consultants. We need you to be our eyes and ears, and our voice in towns all across America.

You can start by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about the new report. Speak out and help let all of America know why it's wrong for Wal-Mart shift to shift its cost onto taxpayers, and why providing health care to hard-working Americans is a value all employers need to embrace.

Below are a few of the Wal-Mart myths we must fight to expel.

Wal-Mart Myth		Reality
Wal-Mart offers affordable health care benefits to its associates.		In 2005, Wal-Mart failed to provide company health care to 57% of its workforce, leaving over 775,000 Wal-Mart workers and their families without company health care.
Wal-Mart provides similar levels of health care coverage to other employers.		Only 43% of Wal-Mart workers have company health care, whereas the industry average for Fortune 500 companies is 68%.
Wal-Mart offers competitive health care compared to other retailers in the industry.		Wal-Mart spends an average of $3,500 per employee for health care, while the average spending per employee in the wholesale/retailing sector is $4,800 - 27% less than the industry standard.
Wal-Mart claims its "average full-time hourly wage rises to $10.11 and even higher in urban areas" in 2005.		Wal-Mart workers across the country refute this claim. While Wal-Mart managers earn over $103,545 per year, the average Wal-Mart worker continues to earn below the poverty line for a family of four.
Wal-Mart offers competitive wages when compared to other retail companies.		According to a UC-Berkeley study, Wal-Mart workers earned an average of 31% less than employees of other large retail establishments.
Wal-Mart has a positive impact on job creation in communities where it exists.		A recent study shows that overall payrolls are reduced by about 5% after Wal-Mart opens in a given labor market. Over the past thirty years - during which time Wal-Mart has become the dominant firm in retail trade - the median wage for this sector has decreased when adjusted for inflation.
Wal-Mart values the associates that make the company profitable.		CEO Lee Scott makes over 871 times more an hour than the average associate, raking in over $335,000 per week.