Disney Ditches Spousal Healthcare Coverage for Working Spouses

Walt Disney Company will stop covering working spouses under its healthcare plan in 2027 if those spouses have access to coverage through their own employers. This change, part of a broader benefits overhaul called 'Total Rewards', affects more than 200,000 US employees.

The decision applies only when the spouse has access to employer-sponsored coverage elsewhere, regardless of the cost or comprehensiveness of that alternative coverage. Spouses without coverage through their own employer, those covered only by dental or vision plans, and domestic partners in the same situation are unaffected.

According to Joshua Lavine, CEO of Capitol Benefits, this move is 'the extreme, nothing-else-can-work solution' and 'highly unusual', even among large employers with the legal authority to implement it. He notes that most employers reduce their contribution towards spouse coverage instead of eliminating it entirely.