U.S. Chamber Calls Contraceptives Lawsuit Misguided

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The United States Chamber of Commerce today called a Planned Parenthood discrimination lawsuit against a Washington State employer, Bartell Drug Co., for failure to cover contraception under its health plan "misguided and symptomatic of the flawed health care debate."

Chamber Health Care Policy Director Kate Sullivan said, "What the health care debate should be about is providing insurance coverage to people who don't have it, rather than giving additional benefits to people who already have coverage."

Ironically, the Washington State-based drug store chain would not be facing legal action if it did not voluntarily provide a health insurance benefit to its employees, according to the Chamber. Furthermore, the drug store chain offers health insurance at no cost to its workers, a luxury most working Americans don't enjoy.

"Employers need flexibility to design their benefit programs to meet the specific needs of their workers," said Sullivan. Health plans that don't cover contraception usually don't cover a wide variety of non-medically necessary benefits, she noted.

The Chamber called for a renewed focus on the real health care crisis – the record number of Americans without insurance coverage – warning that in the face of rising costs, many employers are considering raising out-of-pocket costs for their employees or dropping coverage altogether.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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