{
  "id": 2440160,
  "title": "Disney celebrates blockbuster 2026 by kicking employees' spouses off healthcare plans",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/disney-celebrates-blockbuster-2026-by-kicking-employees-spouses-off",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-21T17:04:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The A.V. Club",
    "slug": "the-a-v-club",
    "url": "https://www.avclub.com/disney-employee-spouse-healthcare"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Disney's latest blockbuster year saw its co-production, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, grossing $2 billion, solidifying its position among the top three biggest movies of the year, alongside Toy Story 5. The company's revenues are up, with the Toy Story franchise alone contributing an estimated $16 billion to The Walt Disney Company. To celebrate its promising future, Disney announced that starting 2027, employees will be unable to enroll their spouses in the company's insurance plan if the spouse can obtain benefits from another job. This news was conveyed by Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger who has since acquired the LA Lakers with Jared Kushner's brother. The move is reportedly part of Disney's employee loyalty program, \"Total Rewards,\" an internal benefits system aimed at enhancing employee experience while managing rising healthcare costs, evolving company needs, and industry shifts. However, this decision is expected to impact thousands of employees, particularly lower-paid workers and hourly employees, by forcing them to pay more for inferior coverage.",
  "summary": "According to a new report, Disney will no longer cover spouse benefits if they have a job that offers benefits—even if the benefits are worse.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}