Business

Companies forced to consider privacy, healthcare

Pro-choice activists are seen outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on June 15, 2022.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | beautiful pictures

The challenges posed at the end of Roe v. Wade is just getting started for American business.

Via Overturning the abortion precedent Friday, the US Supreme Court has placed a new set of difficulties for companies that must now navigate a country divided between states that will allow the procedure and other states that will ban it.

One of the problems for companies is deciding whether – and how – to provide access to abortions to millions of employees living in states where the procedure is no longer legal.

“Every large institution has health insurance,” says Maurice Schweitzer, a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. “The question would be what is covered? Is out-of-state abortion travel covered if you are operating in a state that prohibits abortion?”

Some of the country’s major employers, including Apple, CVS Healthand Disney, recalling that companies cover travel to states that allow abortion. Others, such as Dick’s sportswearrush to update their medical benefits. Some Prominent business leaders have gone a step further, condemning the end of 50 years of federal abortion rights.

Still others declined to comment or said they were still reviewing the plans.

The Supreme Court decision will have an impact in the corporate world that goes far beyond the health benefits of employers and affects where companies are based and offices, where legislators and commissioners are located. the political action they contribute to and how they communicate with employees, customers, and investors.

Over the years, several companies have chosen to take a stance on polarizing issues, including the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a police officer and the law. Florida’s HB 1557, dubbed “Don’t Say the Gay Bill.

The Supreme Court decision will likely force companies to step in and make it hard for business leaders to stay silent. Schweitzer said. With those decisions, he said, companies could risk a lawsuit, embarrass politicians and provoke backlash from customers or employees.

“This will be an additional challenge for operators,” he said.

For companies that decide to cover abortion care in other states, it will raise new questions including how to reimburse travel costs and protect employee privacy.

Extend employee benefits

Some companies like Netflix, Microsoft and Google’s parent company Alphabet already have health care policies that include abortion and travel benefits, but others are catching up.

JPMorgan Chase told the employee in a memo that it would expand its medical benefits to include travel insurance starting in July. Under armour says it will add a travel benefit to its health plans. Dick’s CEO, Lauren Hobart, shared on LinkedIn that employees, their spouses, and dependents will receive up to $4,000 in travel reimbursement if they live in a restricted-access area.

Discovery of Warner Bros. also contacted its employees after the ruling was announced on Friday.

“We recognize that the issue of abortion can evoke different emotions and reactions for each of us based on our experiences and beliefs,” said Adria Alpert Romm, director of culture and human resources. employee, write in a memo to the employee. obtained by CNBC. “We’re here to support you.”

Romm said the company is expanding health care benefits to cover the cost of employees and their insured families who need to travel to access a range of medical procedures, including care. abortion care, family planning and reproductive health.

Amazon and other companies added travel reimbursements earlier this year when the Sunbelt states passed legislation to close abortion clinics or restrict access in other ways.

But how companies respond over time will vary and could include removing abortion coverage from health plans or providing indirect support such as paid time off or contributions to an account. Health savings can be used for expenses related to travel to get care in another state.

Nearly 30% of organizations said they would increase support in the post-Roe world fertility worker support program, according to a survey of more than 1,000 HR professionals by the Society for Human Resource Management. . The survey was conducted from May 24 to June 7.

About a third of paid time off is cited as the top resource provided to assist with reproductive care, and 14% said they would include the topic of reproductive rights in diversity, publicity programmes. their equality and integration.

Nearly a quarter of organizations said offering a medical savings account to pay for travel for reproductive health care in another state would enhance their talent competitiveness.

Businesses with a stance

Even before the Supreme Court’s decision, companies were already under pressure to step into the abortion debate — or at least articulate how restrictions and bans on abortion could affect how to do their business.

Companies have long used their economic power to influence political policy. In 2019, as Georgia lawmakers seek to ban virtually all abortions, Hollywood use threats to boycott production in the state to articulate their opinions on politics.

However, before the outbreak of the pandemic, studios have react more slowly to new laws that they might have traditionally opposed. Production shutdowns are no longer a luxury Hollywood can afford, especially as they look to keep up with demand for new content..

Disney has recently been having a fight over a heated cultural issue. The publicly protested company Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, after its employees demanded the company take action. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Republican-led Legislature in Florida revoke the company’s special zone in the state, home to Walt Disney World and other resorts, in a move they say is not retaliation.

In a memo to employees on Friday, Disney said it “remains committed to removing barriers and providing comprehensive access to quality and affordable care to all employees”. Disney, which has pre-existing travel benefits that allow its employees who cannot access care in their current location to seek medical care for cancer treatment, transplantation, rare disease treatment and family planning, including decisions related to pregnancy.

As individual states decide to uphold abortion rights or prevent them, legislatures could face backlash from influential companies and business leaders. This may include boycotts, loss of political contributions, or announcements of decisions about where to locate a new headquarters, distribution center or facility.

“Overturning Roe v Wade is a devastating decision by the United States Supreme Court,” billionaire and business magnate Richard Branson wrote in a statement. “This will not reduce abortions, it will only make them unsafe. Reproductive rights are human rights. We must all stand up to choose.”

Branson is among the companies and business leaders that have made the Supreme Court ruling.

Jeremy Stoppelman, co-founder and CEO of Yelp, said: “This ruling puts women’s health at risk, denies their human rights and threatens to undo the progress we’ve made. towards gender equality in the workplace since Roe”. “Business leaders must step up their support for the health and safety of their employees by speaking out against the wave of abortion bans that will erupt as a result of this decision and calling on Congress to unify Roe into law.”

Investors in public companies can have a big influence on how to react to the new ruling.

At a Walmart At a shareholder meeting earlier this month, an investor called on the country’s largest private company to release a report on the potential risks and costs to the company of state policies that limit care. reproductive health and any plans the company has in place to reduce those risks. This non-binding proposal was opposed by the retailer and received no support from the majority of shareholders.

Similar proposals may be made at shareholder meetings of other companies in the near future. Analysts may also probe executives during upcoming earnings calls.

Walmart is headquartered in Arkansas, a state there’s already a book law to trigger the ban. The company declined to comment on Friday when asked if it would cover travel costs to states that allow abortion. It paid for travel to hospitals and medical centers for other types of medical procedures, such as spine surgery and certain heart procedures.

Wharton’s Schweitzer says employees and customers increasingly expect more from companies and want to join or spend money on companies that reflect their values.

The corporate world has taken the lead in some cases, with companies turning Juneteeth into a corporate holiday before it becomes a federal holiday. Some companies, such as Unilever-have ownership of Ben & Jerry’s and executives, such as Levi Strauss & Co.Chip Bergh’s has been known for speaking up.

“There is a growing trend for executives to be more involved, more involved in social and political issues,” he said. “This is going to accelerate that trend as we’re going to see more executives speaking out, more CEOs taking the lead on this, and it’s going to normalize the idea that the CEO is part of the business. of the political process.”

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