Roe v. Wade Archives - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

The Overturning of Roe v. Wade

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jun 27, 2022 | Benefit Controversies, Digital Health, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), overturning Roe v. Wade (Roe) and upending 50 years of precedent protecting a woman’s right to privacy in choosing to abort a pregnancy prior to the point of viability.

The effect of this decision on US companies cannot be understated. Any organization whose operations touch family planning services in any way (e.g., providers, those that facilitate operations, investors, payors, employers that provide family planning benefits and health plan service providers) should immediately examine their precise services, geographic footprint, corporate structure and organizational priorities.

To determine the best steps to take for you and your business, we invite you to join us for the second program in our new webinar series on Wednesday, June 29, at 2:00-3:00 pm EDT with McDermott Partners Stacey Callaghan, David Gacioch and Caroline Reignley and Associate Sarah Raaii, who will analyze and share the latest developments around the reversal of Roe and its likely impacts on US companies.

Register for the webinar here.

Preparing for the Demise of Roe v. Wade and the Criminalization of Abortion in Some US States: Practical Considerations for a Post-Roe World

by David Quinn Gacioch, Stacey Callaghan, Dana McSherry, Caroline Reignley, Paul Thompson and Sarah Raaii | Jun 15, 2022 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Sometime in the next several weeks, the Supreme Court of the United States will issue its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs). Based on the draft majority opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito that was leaked to Politico in early May, there is a significant chance that the Court will overrule Roe v. Wade (Roe) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (Casey) by holding that there is no federal constitutional right to obtain an abortion and leaving individual states free to substantially restrict abortion or prohibit abortion altogether.

The effect of this likely decision on US companies would be substantial. Every US healthcare provider whose services include any aspect of family planning should give serious thought to how this likely new post-Roe reality will affect its offerings and operations. This includes not only those that provide pregnancy termination services (via surgical or pharmaceutical means, whether brick-and-mortar or telehealth/virtual), but also potentially those providing in vitro fertilization services, and conceivably even some contraceptive providers at some point down the line.

Employers Explore Abortion Coverage Continuation

by Sarah Raaii and McDermott Will & Emery | Jun 1, 2022 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans

While the United States awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, which may overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate the federal standard for abortion access, some states are considering setting their own standards that would ban or protect the medical procedure. This state-by-state rulemaking will cause some difficulty for employer plans, and employers are increasingly exploring ways to continue providing abortion coverage.

‘Unprecedented Interest’ in Employer-Covered Abortion Travel

by Sarah Raaii | May 5, 2022 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor

If the US Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade (as suggested by a leaked draft on May 2), employers who want to provide abortion coverage to employees and their families could encounter serious challenges. In this Bloomberg Law article, McDermott’s Sarah G. Raaii noted that employers that provide travel expenses for abortions might encounter resistance from state laws like a Texas statue that permits citizens to sue abortion providers for abortions performed around six weeks.

“If a state wants to interpret this very broadly—and it seems that some of them have indicated that they do—to really just punish anyone involved even peripherally with providing abortion in the states, employers could potentially be at risk.” Raaii said.

Access the article.

Wild Ride Awaits Health, Life Sciences Policy in 2022

by Michael Ryan | Jan 19, 2022 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Healthcare and life sciences lawyers will likely have plenty of work in 2022 thanks to pending legislative and regulatory actions throughout the healthcare, health insurance, and drug and device industries.

According to this Law360 article, surprise billing, abortion and drug pricing are some of the major issues facing lawmakers and regulators in the year ahead. McDermott Partner Michael Ryan noted that changes to the Medical Device User Fee Amendments (MDUFA) also could be in order.

Access the article.