Judge: Add birth control to Bartell's health plan
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Bartell Drugs must cover prescription contraceptives in its employee-medical plan, a federal-court judge ruled yesterday, because not doing so discriminates against female employees.
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik said not treating contraception prescriptions the same as other drugs or devices violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The case is the first federal lawsuit to force a self-insured health-care plan to cover contraceptives and was hailed as a historic court ruling by Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center.
The ruling and its implications will be carefully scrutinized by employers, insurance companies and advocates for state and federal laws mandating contraceptive coverage.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from making employment decisions on the basis of sex or pregnancy.
The class-action suit was brought by Planned Parenthood of Western Washington on behalf of Jennifer Erickson, 27, a pharmacy manager at Bartell, and other women employees of the Seattle-based, family-owned drugstore chain.
"Bartell's prescription-drug plan discriminates against Bartell's female employees by providing less complete coverage than that offered to male employees," Lasnik said in his ruling.
"Although the plan covers almost all drugs and devices used by men, the exclusion of prescription contraceptives creates a gaping hole in the coverage offered to female employees, leaving a fundamental and immediate health-care need uncovered."
Recognizing differences
Lasnik said Title VII "requires employers to recognize the differences between the sexes and provide equally comprehensive coverage, even if that means providing additional benefits to cover women-only expenses."
The ruling means Bartell must cover prescription contraception to the same extent, and on the same terms, that it covers other drugs, devices and preventive care for nonunion employees. Those would include FDA-approved prescription contraceptives such as birth-control pills, Depo-Provera injections, Norplant implants, intrauterine devices and diaphragms.
A plan delayed
Jean Bartell Barber, the company's chief financial officer and granddaughter of the founder, said the company was planning to offer contraceptive coverage before the lawsuit, but the legal action forced them to drop such plans. Union employees, as part of the contract recently negotiated, already receive such coverage.
The company has "really tried to listen to our employees and give them excellent health-care coverage," Barber said. Bartell has not decided whether to appeal the suit, a spokesman said.
Lasnik also ordered Bartell to cover "contraception-related services, including the initial visit to the prescribing physician and any follow-up visits or outpatient services, to the same extent and on the same terms as it offers coverage for other outpatient services for its nonunion employees."
Bartell, at 111 years the oldest drugstore chain in the U.S., operates 50 local stores and employs about 1,600 people, a majority of whom are women.
The ruling's effect on commercial carriers was less clear. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler applauded the decision, saying his office will hold hearings in August on new rules adopting contraceptive- and maternity-coverage requirements in plans offered by commercial insurers.
A federal law called ERISA prevents states from determining which benefits a self-insured employer offers employees.
About half those insured through group plans offered by Regence BlueShield have contraceptive coverage, said spokesman Chris Bruzzo. Adding such a benefit definitely would add cost for an employer, he said.
It's in most packages
At Premera Blue Cross, another large insurer, Scott Forslund said the "vast majority" of both large and small employers around the state who buy commercial group health insurance from Premera already provide contraceptive coverage.
Erickson, who praised Bartell as an employer, said she brought the lawsuit on principle, not because she couldn't afford the cost of the drugs.
"I'm representing hundreds of women working at Bartell's who don't make as much, and it's definitely an issue for them."
Carol M. Ostrom can be reached at 206-464-2249.