After cutting hundreds of jobs, Disney to now cut employee benefits; says: In response to rising healthcare costs in the US, we are ...

Following thousands of staff reductions, The Walt Disney Company is adjusting its corporate benefits package by curtailing healthcare coverage for employees’ working spouses as medical inflation across the US mounts. Beginning next year, the entertainment conglomerate will exclude spouses of US workers from company medical insurance plans if those spouses have access to healthcare coverage through their own employers, a Disney representative confirmed to Business Insider.“Like a growing number of large employers, we're making measured adjustments to our employee benefits in response to rising healthcare costs nationwide,” Disney stated in an official communication. The revised policy will not alter healthcare benefits for other dependent family members, nor does it impact dental or vision plans for spouses, the report added.Joshua Lavine, chief executive of insurance consultancy Capitol Benefits, characterized the decision as an unusually strict cost-cutting measure. Lavine pointed out that while many employers choose to reduce the financial subsidy provided for a spouse's plan, entirely eliminating access to coverage is uncommon.While spouses who are unemployed or whose workplaces offer no health benefits remain eligible for Disney's plan, Lavine cautioned that the policy shift could complicate continuous medical treatment for individuals undergoing long-term care.The benefit adjustment follows earlier reports that Disney plans to launch an employee stock-purchase initiative later in 2027, subject to necessary authorisations. As of September 2025, Disney employed approximately 172,000 workers across the US.The policy shift at Disney comes at a time when there is a steep price increase across the American employer-sponsored healthcare system. A report released by insurance brokerage Aon forecasts that employer medical spending will jump 9.5% next year, which represents the fourth straight year of near double-digit increases and extending a historic stretch of healthcare cost inflation.Other major employers are trimming benefits in response. Coffee giant Starbucks announced it will discontinue health insurance coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs starting in October for eligible hourly and salaried staff who work at least 20 hours per week.A survey conducted this spring by Mercer indicated that almost half of US organisations with at least 500 workers plan to restructure their health plans next year through higher co-payments and deductibles. Beyond health plans, companies such as Zoom have scaled down paid parental leave policies, while Deloitte announced reductions covering paid time off, pension contributions, fertility funding and parental leave for segments of its US workforce beginning in January.