Since a federal judge stunned the business community earlier this month by ordering a Seattle drugstore chain to add contraceptives to its health plan, employers have been calling experts like Mary Beth Mulligan.
The most common question: How much is it going to cost?
Cost is part of a list of reasons that have kept many employers from offering contraceptive coverage.
"For many employers, large and small, it wasn't considered a medical issue so it just wasn't covered," said Mulligan, an associate with William M. Mercer Inc., a New York-based worldwide consulting firm, and an author of a report on the financial implications of providing contraceptive coverage.
"For other employers, it's sort of a moral or social type thing. They don't want to offend people, so they won't cover it," Mulligan said. Others assume "it's going to cost a lot more money than they can afford to spend."
When employers hear that adding contraceptives will cost them about $17 per employee per year, their calculations often end there. But the economics of contraception are not so simple.
As employers face increasing pressure to provide the coverage, some are looking beyond the costs and deciding that promoting use of the most effective forms of contraceptives--the pill and other prescription methods--is good for business.
"We think it makes sense for them to look more comprehensively at what they are providing rather than just the cost of contraceptives," said Julie Gonen, director of family health for the Washington Business Group on Health, a think tank whose members include about 160 Fortune 500 employers.
"We try to tell them, 'You already cover pregnancy.' And some cover termination of pregnancy. 'So why wouldn't you want to help employees have healthy and planned pregnancies?' " Gonen said.
Some employers have decided to add contraceptive coverage because of other considerations, such as the need to appeal to a labor market that is increasingly female and was, until late last year, very tight.
"During the time period when unemployment was so low, employers were looking for ways to attract and retain employees, particularly their female and minority work force," Mulligan said. "You would be surprised at the number of employers who say, 'I want to be on Working Woman's list of top employers for females.' "
