American companies may face barriers to abortion costs.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a half-century-old federal right to abortion, companies such as Amazon, Disney, Apple, and JP Morgan promised to cover travel expenses for workers living in illegal states. It can stop pregnancy.

But the companies did not provide any details on how to do this, and while it is important to protect the privacy of employees and the law – it is not clear whether they can do so legally.

“Most employers were not prepared for the copy, and even those who did not understand the law would change it at the next minute,” said Brian Crop, vice president of Gartner Consulting. “You’re trying to play.”

Matching Google says it will delete location history information for users visiting abortion clinics.

According to Crop, many companies plan to provide travel benefits without infrastructure. Some are creating additional policies for employees to cover abortion travel, while others are talking to insurers about whether travel can be added to their plans. They are trying to figure out how to provide benefits without compromising the privacy of other employees.

“Should employees tell their manager that they have to travel from Texas to California to have an abortion?” Crope said.

The answer is no – but they have to tell human resources or the like that they are pregnant and want to have an abortion, says Sharonna Hoffman, professor of health law at Case Western Reserve University. The company or health insurance provider pays in advance or returns after the fact.

Hoffman described travel expenses as “generous benefits” from companies, and said that “if this is the work of many companies – without doing so” it is not surprising that they fear the repercussions of public statements. Dividing issues such as abortion.

“It’s not unkind at all,” she said. “It also makes some sense for companies not to have very anxious employees because they have unwanted pregnancies and have to carry the baby until the deadline.”

For now, most large companies say abortion can add travel benefits to existing health care plans, says Jonathan Mormer Lewis, a partner at law firm that helps companies grow and protect their benefits.

Matching From Roe v. Changing the abortion laws since Wade’s decision can be confusing for providers, patients

Larger companies are generally rewarded with their own insurance, which means they pay all claims and are more flexible in deciding what the plans cover. The third party handles the claims on their behalf.

This is the case with Patagonia, which last year updated its health coverage to increase travel costs for workers after Texas law prohibits abortion for the most part. Patagonia abortion and travel expenses are administered in the same way as other medical services, which ensures staff confidentiality.

The restaurant’s reviewer, Yelp, said the abortion was administered by the health insurance company. Yelp says it will not be able to access details of the service if Yelp uses travel benefits for its employees.

Microsoft, for its part, said it would cover abortion and gender certification for its employees and extended its coverage to include travel costs for “these and other legal medical services” if they are no longer at home. Condition.

Matching After Vad was overturned by the Supreme Court, Vasectomy interest increased.

Smaller companies may have fewer options. They usually buy health insurance for their employees if they comply with state regulations. Those companies are less capable of designing benefits, and may operate in states that prohibit abortion.

“It’s very difficult,” said Dr. Amy Parek, chief health officer at the now-inclusive health service, which provides health care exploration services and virtual care for employers.

“They move as fast as they can,” Parek said. “And I think when things come up, they’re funny and they change as needed.”

For example, some companies are asking a partner to pay for an abortion.

When the legal landscape changes rapidly, even adding travel benefits to the current treatment plan poses some risk. In May, 14 state legislators in Texas sent a letter to Lift to cancel the travel benefits of the abortion, warning companies that they plan to pass a law banning them from doing business in Texas if they pay for abortions or abortion-related expenses.

That is, no such law has been enacted in Texas or anywhere else. And going to states where abortion is legal is not against the law, Hoffman said. But there are efforts to change that.

And the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, may be repealed when a crime is committed while maintaining confidential patient information. This is now the case in regions where abortion is a crime.

“It’s a challenge for employers to explore the rapidly evolving legal landscape,” said Sharon Masling, head of the Morgan Lewis Reproductive Rights Task Force. “There will be a lot of controversy over the next few years.”

In addition to legal issues, abortion travel benefits also provide some thorny workplace issues, says Crope. Employees who do not support abortion may be angry that their company is paying for other workers’ travel expenses. He said that even those who support abortions can ask why the company does not pay for antenatal care or transplant health services.

Experts say that this is because some companies are offering travel benefits, but they are not making public announcements about it.

“My feeling is that most employers are trying to figure out what is best for their employees and dependents,” Parek said. “And not all employers want to put in the effort to be very public at this point.”

Churches in several U.S. states have been destroyed by the abortion decision

__

Associated Press staff Hallelujah Hadero and Ann Dienosenzio in New York and Matt O’Brien contributed to Providence Road Island.