The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade, which took away women’s constitutional right to an abortion. Instead, they put the power to regulate abortion in the hands of individual states.
In the wake of this decision, having access to benefits that cover abortion is more important than ever. “Lots of insurance plans do not even cover abortion,” says Elizabeth Estrada, New York Field and Advocacy Manager for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. “It really is an intentional effort on the company's part to seek plans that do cover abortion.”
In response, companies across the country have spoken out against the ruling and publicly committed to supporting their employees by offering benefits that cover abortion and related costs—whether the employees live in states that protect abortion rights or states that limit or deny access to this critical reproductive care.
In addition to ensuring their health insurance plans cover abortion care, many companies are also offering additional abortion-related benefits to employees, including travel reimbursements for employees who can’t access abortion care locally and processes to protect employee privacy if and when they need to seek an abortion—benefits that make abortion care more accessible and affordable.
“Companies should ensure that health insurance or abortion is covered under the company's health insurance plans,” says Estrada. “If you're living in a banned state—such as Texas or Georgia or, soon, Florida—then the company should be not only providing abortion coverage, but also be acknowledging the fact that some people are going to have to travel outside of their state for care…so if there are travel reimbursements, that would be one less barrier to access that they would be able to facilitate for their employees.”
Let’s take a look at companies that are stepping up and expanding their abortion coverage and related benefits to protect the health, safety, and autonomy of their employees:
Abortion-related support/benefits: 23andMe offers access to prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive ella through Lemonaid Health, its telehealth platform. This is in addition to the company’s additional support for birth control and reproductive healthcare needs.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Adobe’s insurance plans cover and pay for abortion services throughout the plans’ service areas. Employees and their dependents covered by an Aetna plan specifically are also eligible for reimbursement for travel expenses related to abortion services if they travel 100 miles or more.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Airbnb outlined its support for the reproductive rights of women prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and shortly after the passage of the Texas Heartbeat Act. The company committed to providing financial support to employees faced with legal action and expenses as a result of the act, and reimburses employees for travel expenses related to abortion services.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Amazon committed to reimbursing employees and dependents up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for non-life-threatening medical treatments, which include abortions, if an operation isn’t available within 100 miles of an employee’s home. It also provides up to $10,000 annually for travel expenses related to life-threatening issues.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Apple reimburses employees for the cost of traveling out of state to receive medical care, including abortions. Additionally, Apple noted that this benefit had been in place and available for more than 10 years (as of 2022).
Abortion-related support/benefits: Australian software company Atlassian provides U.S.-based employees living in states with limited or banned abortions with reimbursement for travel and accommodations if they travel out of state for an abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Bumble, which is based in Austin, Texas, offers its employees and their partners a $10,000 lifetime benefit for reproductive healthcare, which includes abortion. It also created a relief fund to support reproductive rights and people looking for abortions in Texas.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Shortly before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Chobani’s founder and CEO tweeted out support for women’s reproductive healthcare services, including abortion. The company covers travel and lodging costs for employees and dependents traveling for abortion and other healthcare, including cancer treatment, transplants, and gender reassignment surgery. The policy also reimburses childcare costs during these procedures.
Abortion-related support/benefits: At the start of 2022, Citigroup began paying travel benefits for employees who needed to go out of state to access abortion services and reproductive healthcare.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Dick’s Sporting Goods provides employees, their partners, and any dependents with up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursement if they have to travel to a different state for an abortion. Employees who use this benefit are also allowed to travel with one support person.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Disney covers the cost of travel for employees who need to travel to another location for family planning or reproductive healthcare, including abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: DoorDash covers travel expenses for any employees and dependents enrolled in a healthcare plan. The company also covers the cost of reproductive care, including abortions, though coverage doesn’t extend to independent contractors.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Google provides coverage for out-of-state medical procedures, including abortion, that are unavailable where an employee lives and works. In addition, the company also allows employees to apply for relocation without justification, giving employees the opportunity to move to locations with less prohibitive reproductive laws.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Hinge provides coverage for travel and medical costs associated with reproductive healthcare—including abortion. The company also covers travel costs (including airfare, ground transportation, and lodging) for any employee (or a dependent) who needs abortion or gender-affirming services.
Abortion-related support/benefits: The president and CEO of Impossible Foods announced via LinkedIn that, in addition to covering 100% of medical benefits for employees and their families, the company would also cover travel expenses for employees who need to travel out of state for access to abortions and reproductive services. This coverage includes transportation, lodging, meals, and childcare.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Intuit offers employees a number of healthcare plans, some of which provide coverage for abortions and other reproductive healthcare and procedures. These plans may also provide coverage for birth control and contraceptives, as well as reimbursement for travel expenses related to reproductive healthcare.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Johnson & Johnson covers travel expenses for eligible medical services, including abortion, that are not available within 100 miles of an employee’s home. The company also provides financial assistance and reimbursements for adoption, fertility, and surrogacy for both heterosexual and same-sex couples.
Abortion-related support/benefits: JPMorgan Chase expanded its health care coverage in July 2022, covering travel expenses for all covered health care services that can only be obtained away from an employee’s home. This includes abortion and organ transplants, as well as other types of services.
Abortion-related support/benefits: In mid-2022, Kroger announced that employees are eligible for up to $4,000 in travel benefits for access to multiple categories of medical treatments and reproductive healthcare services, including abortion and fertility treatments.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Lyft provides coverage for elective abortion as part of its medical benefits plan. The company also reimburses travel costs for any employee that must travel more than 100 miles for treatment from an in-network provider.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, covers travel expenses for employees who need to travel out of state for an abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Microsoft provides reimbursement for travel expenses that employees may incur when seeking an abortion or gender-affirming care anywhere in the U.S. This coverage is also extended to “critical healthcare” for employees and their dependents.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Netflix provides a $10,000 lifetime travel reimbursement allowance per employee and dependent who need to travel for cancer treatment, transplants, gender-affirming care, or abortions.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Nordstrom created a new travel benefit that covers the cost of travel for employees who are unable to access abortion services locally.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Employees who work for OkCupid, an online dating service owned by Match (which also owns PlentyOfFish and Tinder), are able to draw from a fund to cover the cost of travel for access to abortion services. The company also rolled out a pro-choice profile badge to make it easier for members to more easily identify compatible matches when using the app.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Reddit, the eighth-most visited website in the world, provides its employees with a stipend to cover travel costs for medical procedures, including abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Starbucks provides its employees and their dependents with a travel reimbursement if they need to travel more than 100 miles from their homes to obtain an abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: In 2021, Tesla expanded its Safety Net program and health insurance offerings to include travel expenses for employees who are unable to obtain necessary healthcare in their home state. This means the cost for travel and lodging to obtain an abortion is now reimbursable under Tesla’s benefits coverage.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Twilio took to Twitter to announce its support for reproductive healthcare rights. In its statement, the company announced that it would cover the financial costs for employees who need to travel for reproductive care. In addition to promising to continue evolving its benefits packages, Twilio also made a $100,000 donation to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Uber covers the cost of abortions for its employees, as well as travel expenses that employees may incur to obtain an abortion out-of-state. The company also offers to cover any legal costs its drivers may incur if sued under the Texas abortion law for transporting passengers to an abortion appointment.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Victoria’s Secret employees who are eligible for benefits are entitled to substantial reproductive health and family support, including free birth control, fertility treatments, and the cost of therapeutic and elective abortions. The company also reimburses up to $4,000 of travel expenses for medical care not available within 100 miles of an employee’s home.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S., covers the cost of abortion when “there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.” The company also provides travel support for its employees and their dependents, covering the cost of travel if reproductive care isn’t available within 100 miles of their location.
Abortion-related support/benefits: Yelp covers travel expenses for employees and their spouses if and when they need to travel out of state to access abortion care. The company allows employees to submit travel receipts directly to the employee’s health insurance provider to maintain the employee’s privacy and limit exposure.
Abortion-related support/benefits: In addition to 15 days of PTO following a pregnancy loss (including an abortion or miscarriage), Zendesk employees, their spouses, and their dependents are entitled to up to $3,000 annually for travel expenses related to reproductive care, including abortion.
Abortion-related support/benefits: In addition to covering reproductive healthcare services through its employee health benefits, Zillow reimburses up to $7,500 each time an employee needs to travel to access healthcare, including reproductive services or gender-affirming care. The company is also committed to continuing to provide access to reproductive healthcare.