IOWA, USA — Companies across Iowa are offering to cover abortion-related expenses for their employees in the weeks following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Some businesses, like Nationwide, are not covering travel explicitly but instead allowing employees to use accumulated FSA/HSA funds to pay for their own travel costs.
Others are committing to covering expenses if travel is necessary. A Dotdosh Meredith spokesperson said, “We will now cover travel expenses for employees seeking reproductive healthcare if unavailable within 100 miles of your home.”
Principal said it will also reimburse employees if they must travel out of state for medical procedures, including reproductive care. Amazon has followed suit, offering up to $4,000 per employee annually for treatments including abortions.
Other companies, such as Wells Fargo, emphasized that current coverage will remain in place regardless of the location in which the services are performed.
Starbucks and Tesla announced travel coverage updates back in May when a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicated that Roe v. Wade would be overturned.
Hy-Vee is still monitoring the state’s response to “review the offerings and plans we provide,” but has not announced it will cover any abortion-related costs.
The future of abortion in Iowa is dependent on further court decisions, with Gov. Kim Reynolds calling for the Iowa Supreme Court to review several abortion laws that had previously been struck down or blocked.
Below is a list of some companies who have issued statements on employee-related reproductive care expenses, as reported by Axios:
- Wells Fargo
- Amazon
- Tesla
- Starbucks
- Apple
- Ralph Lauren
- Comcast
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Indeed
- Zillow
- Chobani
- Discord
- Patagonia
- Yelp
- Mastercard
TEGNA, the parent company of WOI-TV/KCWI-TV, released the following information:
"We have continued to enhance our offerings to provide a comprehensive set of reproductive and family planning benefits that include contraception, fertility support, surrogacy, adoption, and access to other services, including abortion. TEGNA is committed to continuing these benefits for all our employees regardless of their location. We are working on expanding our healthcare benefits to cover transportation expenses to access covered medical services that are not available where an employee is located."