On May 2, 2022, a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press, and as a result the Court is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, effectively leaving the issue of abortion rights to the states. Thirteen states currently have laws in place that will automatically ban at least some forms of abortion in their state if Roe v. Wade is overturned, and it is expected that thirteen or more additional states will quickly follow suit.[1]
Employers across the country have been contemplating the potential impact of the anticipated decision on their employee benefit plans, and some large national employers have publicly announced their intention to provide travel benefits to defray the costs for employees and other plan participants who travel across state lines where necessary to receive a legal abortion. Below, we highlight some issues employers may want to consider in connection with the coverage of abortion services under their plans.
No. There is no law that requires employer-sponsored group health plans to cover abortion services, but many currently do. Abortion is not an “essential health benefit” as defined by the Affordable Care Act so, under current law, even employers sponsoring fully-insured plans have broad discretion whether to cover it. However, since the Dobbs case has been in the spotlight, some employee groups, shareholders, and other...
Russia's Defense Ministry is reporting alleged battlefield successes on Max, but some of its claims lack evidence. Even Russian military bloggers are questioning claims that Ukrainian forces have ...