Disney Ditches Spousal Medical Coverage Amid Rising Healthcare Costs

The Walt Disney Company has announced that it will no longer offer medical insurance plans to US employees' spouses if those spouses have jobs that provide such coverage. This change is set to take effect next year and does not affect dental or vision benefits for workers' spouses.

This move is seen as a cost-cutting measure by the company, which has about 172,000 US employees as of September 2025. The policy change comes as US employers' healthcare expenses are projected to rise 9.5% next year.

Joshua Lavine, CEO of Capital Benefits, an insurance advisory firm, stated that eliminating spousal medical coverage is 'really the extreme, nothing-else-can-work solution.' He suggested that a better approach would be for Disney to reduce its contribution to the spouse's coverage instead.