Irony and Reality at Whole Foods

From John Mackey's Op-ed in the WSJ:

The combination of high-deductible health insurance and HSAs is one solution that could solve many of our health-care problems. For example, Whole Foods Market pays 100% of the premiums for all our team members who work 30 hours or more per week (about 89% of all team members) for our high-deductible health-insurance plan. We also provide up to $1,800 per year in additional health-care dollars through deposits into employees' Personal Wellness Accounts to spend as they choose on their own health and wellness

And the fallout.

Reading both articles is rather poignant for me. One of my most recent cases is for a client employed, full-time, at, you guessed it, Whole Foods, for the past several years. Her primary reason for bankruptcy is medical bills. HSA sucks when the deductibles run in excess of $40,000. That "up to" $1,800 a year won't even put a significant dent in those debts.