Amazon will offer $4,000 per year to US employees who need to travel to different states for medical procedures, including abortion and transgender care
Amazon will cover up to $4,000 per year in medical care travel costs for US employees.
The new coverage is for non-life threatening treatments, including abortion and transgender care.
Amazon follows similar moves by large employers like Citigroup, Apple, Levi's and Yelp.
Amazon will cover up to $4,000 per year in travel costs for US employees seeking non-life threatening medical treatments, including elective abortion.
The company notified workers in an internal message that was first reported by Reuters, and a spokesperson confirmed Reuters' reporting to Insider. An employee source also shared screenshots of the announcement with Insider.
Several large employers have announced similar policies in the wake of increasingly restrictive laws passed by Republican-controlled states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama.
"In response to changes in reproductive health-care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources," Citigroup told investors in a filing after Texas Governor Greg Abbot signed a law banning abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Other companies include Apple, Bumble, Levi's, and HP.
Amazon's plan is intended to cover travel and lodging for treatments that are not available near an employee's home. The plan expands on an existing policy and covers not just abortion, but transgender care, cardiology treatments, cellular gene therapies, and substance-abuse disorder services as well.
One employee told Insider he supports the initiative, but expects there will be backlash from states like Texas.
The employee benefits plan previously included travel coverage of up to $10,000 for the treatment of life-threatening medical issues, Reuters reported.
Corporate and warehouse employees and their dependents who are enrolled in the company's Premera or Aetna health plans are retroactively eligible for the coverage dating back to January 1, 2022.
Read the original article on Business Insider
