Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Read more
Disney employees are getting a less magical update to their benefits.
Employees were recently notified that, starting in 2027, they will no longer be able to add a spouse to their Disney health plan if the spouse has access to medical coverage through their own employer, a Disney spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider. Other dependents will not be affected.
Puck first reported the change, which does not affect dental or vision benefits, saying more than 200,000 U.S. Disney employees were notified.
“Like a growing number of large employers, we’re making measured adjustments to our employee benefits in response to rising healthcare costs nationwide,” Disney told Business Insider in a statement.
The Independent has contacted Disney for comment.
Starting in 2027, employees cannot add spouses to Disney’s health plan if they have their own employer-sponsored coverage (AFP/Getty)
Many affected spouses could end up with higher premiums, bigger deductibles or less coverage through their own employers. The change could hit lower-paid, hourly Disney workers especially hard, according to Puck and Business Insider.
The health insurance change is part of larger adjustments to Disney’s ironically named “Total Rewards” program, which covers employee compensation and benefits.
The cuts come as new CEO Josh D’Amaro pushes to reduce costs, even as Disney reported third-quarter revenue of $25.25 billion and $5.6 billion in operating income earlier this month, up 7 percent and 21 percent, respectively, Variety reports.
Disney has also gone through three rounds of layoffs this year, including about 150 jobs cut at Pixar in July. The company plans to spend at least $9 billion on stock buybacks this year while cutting health care benefits for some employees’ families, which is a contrast that has raised some eyebrows.
Joshua Lavine, CEO of insurance advisory firm Capitol Benefits, told Business Insider that Disney’s decision is unusual.
“We’ve seen employers reducing their contribution toward the spouse’s coverage, but not eliminating the coverage option for those people,” he said.
Lavine said the change could be especially difficult for spouses receiving long-term medical care, even though those without access to employer-sponsored insurance are not affected.
“There are so many options for employers right now to make coverage available to employees that this is really the extreme, nothing-else-can-work solution,” he said. “A better solution is to reduce, or if you have to, eliminate the employer contribution for spouses.”