The moon rises behind the skyline of New York’s Lower Manhattan. Picture: REUTERS
Companies including health insurer Cigna, PayPal Holdings, Alaska Airlines and Dick’s Sporting Goods also announced reimbursement policies on Friday. State legislators in Texas have already threatened Citigroup and Lyft, which had earlier announced travel reimbursement policies, with legal repercussions. A group of Republican legislators in a letter last month to Lyft CEO Logan Green said Texas “will take swift and decisive action” if the ride-hailing company implements the policy.
Amazon, Citigroup, Lyft, Conde Nast and several other companies that have announced reimbursement policies did not respond to requests for comment. Any company sued over an abortion travel reimbursement requirement will likely cite ERISA as a defence, according to Katy Johnson, senior counsel for health policy at the American Benefits Council, a trade group. And that will be a strong argument, she said, particularly for businesses with general reimbursement policies for necessary medical-related travel rather than those that single out abortion.