Daniel Wiessner - A growing number of large U.S. companies have said they will cover travel costs for employees who must leave their home states to get abortions, but these new policies could expose businesses to lawsuits and even potential criminal liability, legal experts said.
Companies including health insurer Cigna Corp, Paypal Holdings Inc, Alaska Airlines Inc and Dick's Sporting Goods Inc also announced reimbursement policies on Friday. Companies will have to navigate that patchwork of state laws and are likely to draw the ire of anti-abortion groups and Republican-led states if they adopt policies supportive of employees having abortions.
Amazon, Citigroup, Lyft, Conde Nast and several other companies that have announced reimbursement policies did not respond to requests for comment. ERISA regulates benefit plans that are funded directly by employers, known as self-insured plans. In 2021, 64% of U.S. workers with employer-sponsored health insurance were covered by self-insured plans, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
"While this may seem new, it's not in the general sense and the law already tells us how to handle it," Johnson said.The argument has its limits. Fully-insured health plans, in which employers purchase coverage through a commercial insurer, cover about one-third of workers with insurance and are regulated by state law and not ERISA.
Probably only a matter of time until these companies stop having employees or having their headquarters located in red states.
Sure hope these CEOs get their wives to abortion states.
Wouldn't be easier if the companies gave free contraceptives?
How about not doing business in any state in which an employee would have to beg their boss for help with an unwanted pregnancy ?