Albertsons Agrees To Provide Birth-Control Coverage

from Planned Parenthood of Western Washington

Albertsons, the nationwide grocery and pharmacy chain headquartered in Boise, Idaho, announced today that it has reached an agreement with Planned Parenthood and other civil rights attorneys to include coverage for prescription contraception in its employee health benefit plans. The agreement, which will be presented as a class action settlement to a federal court in Phoenix, Arizona, was reached with the assistance of the Phoenix office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as well as class action attorneys.

"Prescription contraception is basic health care for women," observed Roberta Riley of Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, "we congratulate Albertsons for implementing a policy that addresses the health needs of its women employees, not just coverage for the drugs and services used by men." Ms. Riley and the others on her team also complimented Albertsons for making the change to its health benefit plans without waiting until the filing of a lawsuit.

Albertsons is one of many employers which have begun to provide prescription contraception coverage since a federal court in Washington State ruled in 2001 that excluding such coverage violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. That case, known as Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co., held that "the exclusion of women-only benefits from a generally comprehensive prescription plan is sex discrimination under Title VII." The Bartell Drug ruling closely followed a previous determination by the EEOC that exclusion of prescription contraceptives from a generally comprehensive insurance policy constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII.

The Albertsons settlement resolved complaints that six of its female employees had brought to the EEOC regarding the denial of coverage for prescription contraception in their otherwise comprehensive prescription drug and benefit plans.

"It is against the law to deny coverage for health services that only women need, when the health care options available to men are not similarly limited," explained Grace McIlvain, of counsel at Haralson, Miller, Pitt, Feldman & McAnally in Tucson, Arizona, whose clients filed five of the original EEOC charges and who helped to negotiate the class settlement with Albertsons.

Under the class settlement, Albertsons has agreed to provide coverage for all employees, their spouses and their non-spouse dependents for FDA approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices, and all related medical services, according to the same general terms and conditions that it covers other preventive prescriptions, devices and medical services. The covered FDA prescription birth control methods range from birth control pills and diaphragms, to Depo Provera injections and other less commonly used devices.

Albertsons has also agreed to provide reimbursement to certain past and present female employees who incurred out-of-pocket expenses for prescription birth control while covered under an Albertsons health plan. Albertsons has agreed to reimburse these female employees with vouchers that can be used to purchase any grocery and pharmacy products at Albertsons. In order to be eligible for reimbursement, a female employee must have participated in one or more Albertsons health plans for more than 90 days, with at least a day of that coverage (as well as out-of-pocket expenses) occurring after December 20, 2000. Depending upon the length of employment with Albertsons, the employee will be eligible for vouchers of $50, $100 or $150.

The claims for reimbursement will be administered by Rosenthal & Company, an independent claims administrator in Novato, California. Past and present employees, for whom Albertsons has a current address, will automatically be sent a "claim form" which they can use to seek reimbursement. In addition, past and present Albertsons employees can also contact Rosenthal & Company toll-free at 1-800-207-0343, to request a claim form and further information.

Recent polls indicate overwhelming public support for both contraceptive use and contraception insurance coverage. In addition, the medical and social science literature show that the availability of affordable and effective contraceptives helps to prevent a litany of physical, emotional, economic, and social consequences.

More information regarding prescription contraception and women's health can be found at www.covermypills.org, a website maintained by Planned Parenthood.

WWW Washington Free Press