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PLANNED PARENTHOOD FILES UNPRECEDENTED SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT
Employers' Refusal to Provide
Insurance Coverage for Contraceptives Unlawful and UnfairJuly 19, 2000
Seattle, WA — In an unprecedented legal strategy that may affect the
lives of millions of women across the United States, Planned Parenthood of Western
Washington (PPWW) and Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA)
filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Seattle today. The case,
brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, sues an employer who
provides a private insurance plan that does not pay for contraceptives.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the health plan that Bartell Drug Co.
provides its employees to include coverage
for prescription contraceptives.
Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co. is a landmark lawsuit that contends
it is sex discrimination for a private employer to exclude prescription
contraception services from a health insurance plan that covers other
prescription drugs. Such exclusion singles out women and forces them to
pay for basic and essential health care from their own pockets, or risk
unplanned pregnancies.
The first-of-its-kind suit was filed by Jennifer Erickson, a pharmacist
at Bartell Drug Co. in Seattle. Ms. Erickson, who is being represented by
PPWW and PPFA, is bringing the lawsuit on her own behalf, and on behalf of
all other non-union female employees at her company. Her employer, Bartell
Drug Co., a large, self-insured employer with 45 drugstores in the state
of Washington, has more than $135 million in annual revenues.
The Erickson case was filed under a federal law known as Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act. The law prohibits employers with 15 or more
employees from making decisions — including decisions about health care
benefits — on the basis of gender or pregnancy, or for other
discriminatory reasons. In her case, Ms. Erickson states that prescription
contraception is a basic health need, but her current insurance fails to
pay for her prescription. Since women are the sole users of prescription
contraceptives, the employer's refusal to cover them constitutes sex
discrimination.
According to Gloria
Feldt, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the
American public overwhelmingly supports contraceptive use because they
understand it prevents unintended pregnancy and reduces the number of
abortions. Ms. Feldt said that the failure of employers to provide
coverage is an issue of gender equity.
"It is sex discrimination when male employees get their basic health
care needs covered by insurance, but women are forced to pay for theirs,"
said Ms. Feldt.
Legal Remedy Sought to Prevent Employers' from Skirting
Coverage Prior to this filing, Seattle-based industry giant Microsoft responded
to requests to change its insurance plan to offer prescription coverage.
Additionally, one of the nation's largest unions, the Screen Actors Guild,
has done the same.
The plaintiff is asking the court to order Bartell's to begin
immediately covering all FDA-approved methods of contraception in the
health insurance plan offered to employees. "This lawsuit is about
fairness — not just for me — but also for millions of American women like
me who are being discriminated against," she said.
Ms. Erickson, who is 26 years old and married, said she would like to
have children some day, but is not ready yet. She believes that it is not
fair that she has to pay over $300 per year for prescription
contraceptives, even though she has health insurance. Her position in the
health care industry has enabled her to witness this discrimination
first-hand. She has grown increasingly troubled when she has to tell
female customers that their health insurance does not cover one of their
most basic and fundamental health care needs. All female employees at
Bartell Drug are subject to the same discriminatory insurance coverage.
"As a pharmacist, I see firsthand that contraceptives are central to
women's health care," said Ms. Erickson. "That's why I'm taking this stand
against the unfair singling out of contraception from insurance."
Polls Show Public Support for Contraceptive Use and
Coverage Roberta Riley of PPWW, the lead attorney in the case, stressed that the
courts must reverse blatantly unfair and discriminatory policies. She
noted the historic nature of the suit, explaining that it was filed on
behalf of the 60 million American women who are of reproductive age.
"This is truly a landmark occasion," said Ms. Riley. "Until today, no
one has asked the court to stop this discrimination that blocks women's
access to basic health care."
Planned Parenthood counsel will establish that it is illegal sex
discrimination for this employer to single out prescription contraception
from its employee health plans. "A victory in this case will directly
benefit Bartell's employees and set legal precedent for all women," said
Ms. Riley.
Contraception is Basic Health Care for Women Providing full contraceptive coverage in employee health plans would
not be expensive. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, providing
such coverage would cost employers $21.40 per employee per year, if
employers paid the full cost of coverage.
Recent studies have also shown that contraception is critical to
improving maternal and child health. The United States has alarmingly high
infant mortality and low-birthweight rates, both of which are associated
with unintended conception. Women who carry unintended pregnancies to term
are less likely than other women to receive adequate prenatal care,
resulting in greater risks to their health and poorer birth outcomes.
Ms. Erickson is represented in this case by Roberta Riley, Planned
Parenthood of Western Washington; Eve Gartner, Planned Parenthood
Federation of America; and the Seattle law firm of Keller Rohrback. The
National Women's Law Center is of counsel on the case.
Planned Parenthood® Federation of America is the world's
largest and most trusted voluntary family planning organization. It is
comprised of 129 affiliates that operate 875 health centers nationwide,
which serve nearly five million Americans annually.
The National Women's Law Center is a non-profit organization based in
Washington, DC that has been working since 1972 to advance and protect
women's legal rights.
For more information online, please visit www.plannedparenthood.org or
http://www.covermypills.org/.
Seattle media, contact Jennifer Hahn at (206) 465-1931 or Marilyn
Knight at (206) 328-7735; National media, call Douglas Gould & Co.
(914) 833-7093.
Thirteen states have laws that require contraceptive
coverage, but Washington is not among them. But even these laws are not
fully adequate and do not apply to self-insured companies. Federal legislation has
been introduced in Congress that would require all health plans nationwide
to cover contraception, but it has stalled in committee despite
substantial bipartisan support. This suit, and other suits in formation
around the country, would establish equity in basic health coverage for
millions of American women using federal anti-discrimination law.
A recent nationwide poll of privately insured adults
revealed that 73 percent support coverage of full contraceptive services
in their health insurance plans, even if it would increase their own costs
by $5 per month (Princeton Survey Research for Kaiser Family Foundation).
Nonetheless, many private health plans in the U.S. still do not provide
the coverage. According to the most comprehensive study of this issue,
half of all traditional indemnity plans do not cover oral contraceptives
or condoms. Even among HMOs, which offer the most comprehensive
contraceptive coverage, 7 percent do not cover prescription contraceptives
and only 39 percent cover all five types of contraception.
All of those
bringing the lawsuit pointed out that contraception is a basic health care
need. Seven in 10 American women in their childbearing years are sexually
active and do not wish to become pregnant. Without insurance coverage,
however, some women use less effective and less reliable contraceptive
methods, risking more unplanned pregnancies.
Planned Parenthood® of Western Washington has 17 medical
clinics providing reproductive health services to more than 58,000 men and
women throughout Western Washington.
