The Wal-Mart plan.(Editorial)

IT HAD TO COME AS A SURPRISE to all the Wal-Mart haters when the .company joined hands last week with a major labor union and liberal-leaning think tank to endorse the idea of requiring large companies to provide health insurance to their workers--a key part of President Obama's health plan.

Yes, this is the same company that has received heavy criticism in the past for not providing adequate health benefits for its workers, much of that criticism coming from labor unions because they have failed to organize the giant company's workers.

But Wal-Mart has improved its health care benefits so much that its workers now are far better off than most in the retail industry.

"We are for shared responsibility. Not every business can make the same contribution, but everyone must make some contribution," Wal-Mart CEO Michael T. Duke wrote in a letter to White House and congressional officials that was issued jointly with the Service Employees International Union and the Center for American Progress, a Democratic policy organization.

There is, of course, a catch. In the letter, the three say, "Support for a mandate also requires the strongest possible commitment to rein in health care costs. Guaranteeing cost containment is essential."

That means if Congress requires employers to offer insurance, it must also offer a guarantee to business that health care costs will, in fact, be contained. The letter mentioned one proposal that has received attention--a so-called trigger mechanism that would impose reductions if certain spending targets are not met. If that doesn't happen, don't look for Wal-Mart to support the plan.

The letter cites research that says few businesses will be able to keep up with the pace at which health insurance premiums are rising. Premiums are expected to rise by 20 percent in less than four years, it said.

And the growing cost of health care is "poised to drive our federal budget over a cliff," the letter said. A recent report by the Senate Finance Committee found that by 2017, "health care expenditures are expected to consume nearly 20 percent of the GDP," the letter said.

Wal-Mart's decision puts it at odds with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation, which believe that forcing companies to provide insurance will raise costs for its members.

But since the recession began, more people have shopped at Wal-Mart, and they've come to discover that it's not the same old Wal-Mart. Whether you like Wal-Mart or hate it, the world's largest retailer and the nation's largest private employer has apparently accepted its leadership role in areas many never thought it would.

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