Home Depot dropping insurance for 20,000

9/20/2013

ATLANTA — Home Depot Inc., the world’s largest home improvement retailer, plans to end medical coverage for about 20,000 part-time employees and direct them to government-sponsored exchanges scheduled to open next month as companies revamp benefits to fit the U.S. Affordable Care Act.

Employees with fewer than 30 hours a week will no longer be offered limited liability medical coverage, a company spokesman said. About 5 percent of Home Depot’s 340,000 employees are enrolled in that plan.

Home Depot said it is maintaining coverage for full-time workers, though those people will pay more next year, reflecting a rise in the cost of health care.