After the draft opinion expired in May, companies across the country announced plans to reimburse employees for abortion-related travel if they live in a country where the procedure is illegal.
Tempe-based GoDaddy has announced it will pay for abortion-related travel expenses.
“We are deeply concerned about recent changes that restrict reproductive rights,” GoDaddy officials said in a statement. “Restricting these rights affects people’s ability to strive for success on their own terms, which is at the heart of our mission to empower entrepreneurs everywhere by making opportunities more inclusive. That’s why a few weeks ago we announced internally that we would expand our health benefits in the United States to cover travel and travel-related costs for abortion and other health needs for employees and their spouses covered and dependent on our health plan.
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From July 1, JPMorgan Chase & Co., which employs approximately 9,500 people in Arizona, will extend its covered travel benefits to all covered services that cannot be obtained within 50 miles of where the employee lives.
“Our health plans have in the past covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel,” according to a company note published by JPMorgan Chase. “From July, we will extend this advantage to include all covered services that can only be obtained away from home, which includes legal abortion.
Previously, the company only covered certain procedures, such as organ transplants or bariatric surgery.
“As always, we are focused on the health and well-being of our employees and want to ensure fair access to all benefits,” a JPMorgan Chase spokesman said in an email.
A spokeswoman for DoorDash, which employs about 1,000 people in Arizona, said the company would cover some travel expenses for employees and their dependents included in the company’s health plan seeking abortions in states where they do not have access.
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“It is essential that all DoorDash employees and their dependents covered by our health plans have fair and timely access to safe health care. This is one of our guiding principles as an employer. As safe abortion procedures are likely to become severely limited in more states, DoorDash will cover certain travel costs for employees who face new barriers to access and have to travel outside the state for abortion-related care. “
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The latest Supreme Court case challenging the constitutional right to abortion is a step in a series of legal challenges aimed at allowing individual states to regulate more strictly or even ban the procedure. (June 23)
AP
Many national employers offer reimbursement
Dick’s Sporting Goods also announced that it will reimburse employees up to $ 4,000 for travel to the nearest place where abortion is legally available. The benefit will cover employees, spouses or dependents included in the company’s medical plan, along with a support person, the company’s management said on social media.
In May, Amazon announced it would also reimburse up to $ 4,000 in travel expenses for non-life-threatening medical care, including abortion if the procedure could not be performed within 100 miles of the employee’s home.
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Starbucks also announced that it will reimburse employees and dependents included in Starbucks’ health care plan for abortion-related travel expenses if the provider is not available within 100 miles.
Other companies that have announced they will reimburse travel expenses for abortion staff include Yelp, Disney, Tesla, Salesforce, Bumble, Citigroup and Match Inc., according to USA Today.
Contact a reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek.
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