Amazon will pay $4,000 per year to employees in the United States who need to travel to different states for medical treatments such as abortion or transgender care.
For US employees, Amazon will cover up to $4,000 in medical care travel expenditures per year.
Non-life threatening procedures, such as abortion and transgender therapy, are now covered under the new plan.
Amazon will pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses per year for US employees seeking non-life-threatening medical procedures, such as elective abortion.
The company informed employees via an internal memo, which Reuters first reported on, and a representative verified Reuters’ story to Insider. Insider received screenshots of the news from an employee source.
In the aftermath of more draconian laws imposed by Republican-controlled states like Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama, other prominent corporations have adopted similar policies.
“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 said in a filing after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law prohibiting abortion after a foetal heartbeat is detected.
Apple, Bumble, Levi’s, and HP are among the other companies.
Amazon’s plan is designed to cover the costs of travel and housing for therapies that aren’t offered close to an employee’s home. The plan builds on an existing policy by including transgender care, cardiology treatments, cellular gene therapies, and substance-abuse disorder services in addition to abortion.
One employee told Insider that he supports the proposal but anticipates opposition from areas such as Texas.
According to Reuters, the employee benefits package formerly offered up to $10,000 in travel coverage for the treatment of life-threatening medical concerns.
Employees at the corporate and warehouse offices, as well as their dependents, who are registered in the company’s Premera or Aetna health plans, will be eligible for coverage retroactive to January 1, 2022.