Sarah Raaii, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery’s multidisciplinary post-Roe team, and Cat Duffy, policy analyst of the National Health Law Program, address the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.
Sarah Raaii, co-chair of McDermott Will & Emery’s multidisciplinary post-Roe team, and Cat Duffy, policy analyst of the National Health Law Program, addressed the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision of the Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.
Related: How Employers, Insurers are Coping With Abortion After Dobbs
Raaii and Duffy also touched on how health insurers are responding to the Dobbs decision and shared what they think if travel benefits or "teleabortion" will be a way for women in states with abortion restrictions to get abortions.
Duffy said they have seen some health insurers and many other corporations different corporations step up to offer new benefits to cover travel for employees who are located in states that are hostile to abortion access, where access has been eliminated.
She added those travel benefits have taken a couple different forms. For example, some companies are explicitly adding travel benefits to their pre-existing insurance policy. Some have created reimbursement programs where the employee would have to front the costs upfront and then get reimbursed by the company. Others are stipend programs and different varieties beyond that.
Raaii said teleabortion seems like the most popular potential solution to not directly provide abortion services and pay for them in restrictive states.
These travel benefits would allow benefit plan administrators to set up a reimbursement for medical travel expenses. These expenses can cover medical travel for medically necessary procedures or services to simply reproductive healthcare.
Raaii added potentisl risks can develop depending on how these benefits are actually covered and described to mitigate some of the uncertain risks that largely remain to be seen from states and how they are deciding to enforce these laws.
However, there are ways to structure the medical travel benefits to try to minimize some of that risk if states do decide to ban abortion in their states.
"Medical travel benefits could be one solution," Raaii said. "There's some other creative solutions that we've helped clients work out if for whatever reason, their service provider, for instance, can't accommodate travel benefits for reproductive healthcare.
"It seems like most of these conversations are about travel benefits, and certainly that's been most widely covered in the media as a potential solution. So we'll continue to advise on that I'm sure in in the weeks and months to come."
In this second part of a two-part podcast episode, Managed Healthcare Executive's Managing Editor Peter Wehrwein spoke with Ceci Connolly and Margaret "Meg" Murray about Medicare Advantage utilization and challenges, highlighting proposed CMS payment cuts and prior authorization issues.
Listen
The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury, released final rules on short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) and independent, non-coordinated excepted benefits coverage, addressing issues related to the low-quality insurance, or "junk insurance" plans.
Read More
In this first part of a two-part podcast episode, Managed Healthcare Executive's Managing Editor Peter Wehrwein kicks off our new podcast series "DC Roundtable," with guests Margaret "Meg" Murray, CEO of the Association of Community Affiliated Plans, and member of MHE's Editorial Advisory Board, and Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, for a discussion on healthcare policy issues.
Listen
2024 Emerging Leaders in Healthcare — Submit For a Chance to Be Featured in MHE's August Issue
March 28th 2024MHE Editors are seeking diverse healthcare professionals from different backgrounds and healthcare sectors, with individual interests. Eligible candidates are early or mid-career leaders with less than 10 years of experience. Award winners will enjoy complimentary passes to the PBMI Annual National Meeting in Orlando, Florida, from Sept. 4-6. Additional perks include a feature in our August issue, a subscription to MHE and more!
Read More
Muthiah “Muthu” Vaduganathan Discusses the Role of SGLT2 Inhibitors in Heart Failure Treatment
March 27th 2024Editors of Managed Healthcare Executive spoke with Muthiah “Muthu” Vaduganathan MD, MPH, consultant cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a member of faculty at Harvard Medical School, about the evolving treatment landscape for heart failure, emphasizing the use of SGLT2 inhibitors alongside other foundational therapies.
Read More