Albertsons won't insure employees' spouses if they're eligible for their own health coverage
Albertsons is making several changes to its employee benefits to manage rising costs for 2027. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Albertsons will not provide health coverage for employees' spouses who can get insurance elsewhere. The company says the move is intended to manage rising costs, which it expects to increase 9.5%. In August, Disney also pulled back on benefits it will provide for workers' families. Albertsons is curbing health care benefits for employees due to rising healthcare costs. Starting next year, the grocery giant will no longer offer medical insurance plans to employees' spouses and domestic partners who have jobs that provide such coverage. The grocery giant detailed the change in an open enrollment guide posted to its website. Albertsons said it expects its healthcare costs to increase 9.5% next year due to inflation, higher prescription drug costs, provider consolidation, and shortages in the healthcare workforce. "Like employers across the country, Albertsons Companies continues to navigate rising health care costs while working to provide associates with access to quality, competitive benefits," a spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider. The spokesperson also said spouses and partners who don't have access to employer-based coverage will remain eligible for coverage on applicable health plans. Other changes this year include higher weekly paycheck contributions from employees, the elimination of two network plans, along with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for some other plans. Large companies Disney, Starbucks, and Deloitte have also introduced cost-saving changes to their benefits packages for 2027. Disney is also dropping coverage for partners and spouses who can get insurance from their own jobs. "We've seen employers reducing their contribution toward the spouse's coverage, but not eliminating the coverage option for those people," Capitol Benefits CEO Joshua Lavine told Business Insider in August, regarding Disney's decision. Read the original article on Business Insider