Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part a Texas federal district court order revoking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug regimen to induce abortion. The Fifth Circuit vacated the district
Reproductive Healthcare Benefits Task Force
Understanding Recent Litigation on Medication Abortion: A Guide for Health Plan Sponsors
Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court stayed a federal district court order that suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug regimen to induce abortion. This decision means that mifepristone will remain available subject to current FDA dispensation guidelines while the appeal of the district court’s decision proceeds through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (and potentially the Supreme Court). Although the Supreme Court’s decision returns mifepristone access to the status quo for the time being, it creates a number of questions for employers and other benefit plan sponsors with respect to abortion coverage in group health plans, which we discuss below.
After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: Impact on Employee Benefits
By Roberta Chevlowe & Jennifer Rigterink on
Employers and other group health plan sponsors are left with much to consider following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled the Supreme Court’s prior landmark decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Those cases solidified a federal constitutional right to obtain an…