Holding Companies Will Protect Employees' Privacy When Seeking Reimbursements for Abortion Care

When Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion draft for overturning Roe v. Wade leaked last month, the major ad holding companies, like many corporations across the United States, told their staff they would reimburse any employee who would need to travel to receive abortion care. At the time, the holding companies had few details about how these reimbursements would work and whether employees would need to tell their company why they would need travel reimbursed, which could potentially deter them from seeking it. Adweek reached out to the Big 5 holding companies, plus Havas, Stagwell and Accenture Song, to understand how employees who live in impacted states could exercise benefits for abortion care while protecting their privacy. As of today, most of the holding companies told Adweek that they have either set up or are working to get in place reimbursement programs through health insurance providers. By using their health insurance providers, employees can apply for reimbursements in the same fashion as if they needed to travel for other health procedures not available to them locally. This prevents employees from needing to notify human resources or anyone at their company that they are seeking abortion care. Are you a smaller agency (under 200 people) that operates in a state impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade? Adweek wants to know if your health insurance provider is recommending your agency reimburse employees' travel for abortion care through health insurance or through your company's expense program (like Concur, Webexpenses or Expensify). Email me at jameson.fleming@adweek.com. In place already Several of the holding companies have already put into place the necessary framework to allow employees to travel for any reproductive healthcare they need and get reimbursed for it through their health insurance providers. In a letter to Omnicom employees, CEO John Wren said, “In 2006, Omnicom updated its health care policy to provide funding for necessary travel to access health care providers, including reproductive services. Therefore, if you live in a state where access to an abortion is restricted or banned following today’s decision and you choose to go to a state where it is available, legal and safe, your travel expenses will be covered.” Dentsu will cover all expenses for travel north of 50 miles and refers employees to its health insurance provider for reimbursement, as well as guidance on care and how and where to seek services. The company will cover travel, lodging and meals. Work in progress Since the leaked draft in May, holding companies have been working with their insurance providers to include reimbursements for travel as part of their benefits package, but some are still finalizing the details, working through any legal barriers or state-by-state issues. IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky told employees on Saturday that the holding company is “in the process of updating our health care benefits to provide funding for travel that will allow consistent access to health care, including abortion care and other critical medical services.” In a statement to Adweek, Publicis Groupe said, “Now that the Supreme Court decision has come down and Roe v. Wade has been overturned, we continue this commitment to supporting women and birthing people in their access to reproductive care and abortion services.” Publicis is expected to use its benefits provider to reimburse for travel and lodging, as well as protect employee privacy. Stagwell is also in the process of updating its policies, as chairman and CEO Mark Penn said in a statement: “We are taking immediate steps that will expand our network travel benefits to give employees access to the nearest approved reproductive health care provider in a legally permissible way.” At the time of publication, Stagwell had not yet responded to Adweek's questions confirming this will be done through its health insurance in a way that protects employee privacy. A WPP spokesperson referred Adweek back to CEO Mark Read’s statement in May, which included, “WPP is therefore updating its benefits plan to provide funding for travel that allows consistent access to health care and resources, including abortion care.” WPP has not responded to Adweek’s questions confirming this will be done through its health insurance in a way that protects employee privacy. According to an internal memo Adweek obtained, Read told employees this morning that the leadership team is “working through the details of the policy.” Accenture Song is also funneling employees through its health insurance provider to include travel assistance for anyone who needs to travel more than 100 miles. The company declined to answer whether this benefit has been finalized with its provider. Update 6/28: Accenture Song has finalized its travel assistance benefits through its health insurance providers. Havas has not yet responded to Adweek’s questions about its policy. In May, the holding company was the only major player in the ad industry to not indicate to Adweek that it would cover any costs associated with traveling to receive reproductive health care. How These 3 Indie Agencies Are Supporting Reproductive Freedom