Rite Aid CEO Heyward Donigan on how the Roe v. Wade decision will impact the health care industry on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast.’
A growing number of major corporations, including Alaska Airlines, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JPMorgan, Lyft and Apple have pledged to cover travel expenses for employees seeking out-of-state abortions.
On Friday, the Supreme Court abolished the nationwide right to an abortion, a right that had been in place nearly 50 years. The move is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
However, the corporate world is making it clear that they will continue supporting their employees’ health care despite the highest court in the nation overturning Roe V. Wade.
“We will continue, just as we always have, to provide employees with extensive benefits to support your health and well-being, no matter where you live,” Alaska Airlines Senior Vice President of People Andy Schneider said in a statement Friday.
A Boeing Co. 737-9 aircraft during a Boeing Co. ecoDemonstrator program tour at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., July 28, 2021. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Schneider said “this includes reimbursing travel for certain medical procedures and treatments if they are not available where you live” and that the “Supreme Court decision does not change that.”
Similarly, Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart wrote on LinkedIn that the company is “prepared to ensure that all of our teammates have consistent and safe access to the benefits we provide, regardless of the state in which they live.”
The company plans to provide up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement for employees who live in states where they do not have legal access to an abortion.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DKS | DICK’S SPORTING GOODS INC. | 77.85 | +2.29 | +3.03% |
| ALK | ALASKA AIR GROUP INC. | 41.92 | +2.00 | +5.01% |
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 113.92 | -1.26 | -1.09% |
“This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, along with one support person,” Hobart added.
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In early June, JPMorgan announced in an internal email, obtained by FOX Business Friday, that its “health care plans have historically covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel.”
In July, the company said it’s expanding that benefit to include all covered services that can only be obtained far from an employee’s home, which would include legal abortion, according to the email.
“As always, we’re focused on the health and well-being of our employees, and want to ensure equitable access to all benefits,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told FOX Business Friday.
After the draft opinion suggesting that the landmark 1973 case could be overturned was leaked in May, several companies started issuing policies to help workers who could face health care restrictions in their state.
Pro-choice research group Guttmacher Institute reported earlier this month that 26 states “are certain or likely to ban abortion” if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Starbucks employee working a cash register. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Thirteen states, mainly in the South and Midwest, already have laws on the books that ban abortion in the event Roe is overturned. Another half-dozen states have near-total bans or prohibitions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
In May, Sara Kelly, Starbucks acting executive vice president of partner resources, said in a memo that employees enrolled in the company’s health care insurance plan will be reimbursed “for eligible travel expenses when accessing abortion or gender-affirming procedures” if the services are beyond 100 miles of their home.
This will also apply to an employee’s dependents who are also enrolled in the company’s health care.
“Regardless of what the Supreme Court ends up deciding, we will always ensure our partners have access to quality healthcare,” Kelly said. “And when actions impact your access to healthcare, we will work on a way to make sure you feel supported.”
People walk past a Microsoft office in New York. (AP Photo/Swayne B. Hall, File / AP Newsroom)
Microsoft Corp. also FOX Business in a statement that it will “continue to do everything we can under the law to protect our employees’ rights and support employees and their enrolled dependents in accessing critical healthcare” regardless of where they live.
This already includes services like abortion and gender-affirming care, according to Microsoft.
“This support is being extended to include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region,” the company continued.
Microsoft said its extending its support to “include travel expense assistance for these and other medical services where access to care is limited in availability in an employee’s home geographic region.”
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Airbnb told FOX Business that its “healthcare coverage supports reproductive rights and we will work to make sure our employees have the resources they need to make choices about their reproductive rights, as we committed to last fall.”
Tesla announced that the company expanded its Safety Net program and health insurance offerings last year to include “travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”
Tesla Inc. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File / AP Newsroom)
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In a regulatory filing, Citigroup announced that it will “provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources” due to “changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the U.S.”
Yelp also announced an expansion of its health insurance coverage to support consistent access to care across its distributed workforce.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 267.70 | +8.84 | +3.41% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 737.12 | +31.91 | +4.52% |
| C | CITIGROUP INC. | 46.35 | -0.85 | -1.80% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 138.27 | +2.92 | +2.16% |
| YELP | YELP INC. | 30.31 | +1.38 | +4.77% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 112.44 | +3.49 | +3.20% |
| LEVI | LEVI STRAUSS & CO. | 17.31 | +0.57 | +3.41% |
The company’s health insurance already covered abortion care, but now the company also provides travel benefits for U.S. employees and their dependents who may need out-of-state health care services.
Meanwhile, Amazon is reimbursing employees up to $4,000 each year to cover travel for medical treatments that employees can’t receive within 100 miles of home, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Companies are paying travel costs for abortions, according to reports:
- Alaska Airlines
- Alloy
- Amalgamated Bank
- Amazon
- Airbnb
- Apple
- Bloomberg
- Bumble
- Citigroup
- Dick’s Sporting Goods
- Disney
- GoDaddy
- Gucci
- Hewlett-Packard Company
- Levi Strauss & Co.
- Lyft
- MatchGroup
- Microsoft
- Salesforce
- Starbucks
- Tesla
- Yelp
- Uber
The Associated Press contributed to this report which was updated from its 5/16/22 publish date.
