The recent U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision leaves a lot of legal and regulatory abortion-access questions unanswered. In overturning the prior landmark Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Dobbs decision complicated matters by removing any national standard. Now, employers with employees in multiple states are left to manage multiple regulatory regimes.

One of the most pressing issues for employers and plan sponsors is whether they can continue offering abortion coverage through their health plans when coverage networks include states where abortion is illegal and, specifically, whether such plans can reimburse costs incurred when plan participants travel to a different state for a lawful abortion.

Options to Provide Abortion-Related Travel and Lodging Reimbursement

Employers do have options for offering abortion-related travel and lodging reimbursement to employees seeking abortion outside their state due to new state regulations. Which choices are open to a specific employer depends on its health plan and whether it is fully insured or self-funded. The available options broadly fit into four categories: