Insurance: Exclusion of Contraception Found Discriminatory by EEOC

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and began operating on July 2, 1965. As a federal administrative agency, the EEOC enforces the principal federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination.

While the EEOC typically determines cause in specific cases at the local level, this Commission-level decision was deemed necessary because of the importance of the topic and the need to formulate an agency-wide policy.

42 U.S.C. § 2000(e) et seq. (1978).

Medical treatment and services that were covered included prescription drugs, vaccinations, and “preventative medical care,” to name a few.

Decision on Coverage of Contraception, EEOC Report (visited Jan 18, 2001) <http://www.eeoc.gov/docs/decision-contraception.html>.

Id., quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k) (1978).

499 U.S. 187 (1991).

Decision on Coverage of Contraception, supra note 5, at 199, 211.

29 U.S.C. § 1144(a) (2000).

Decision on Coverage of Contraception, supra note 5.

Dreazen Y.J. Lueck S. , “Excluding Women's Contraceptives from Health Plans Ruled Violation,” Wall Street Journal, Dec. 15, 2000, at B10.

“National Women's Law Center Hails EEOC Ruling on Contraceptive Insurance Coverage,” US Newswire, December 14, 2000, 2000 WL 26852142.

Dreazen Lueck , supra note 11.

Decision on Coverage of Contraception, supra note 5, at footnote 3.

Decision on Coverage of Contraception, supra note 5.

“Employee Benefits: EEOC says plans covering Viagra for men must also cover women's contraceptives,” BNA's Health Law Reporter (Dec. 21, 2001).

29 U.S.C.A. § 623 et seq. (2000).

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Erie County Retirees Association v. County of Erie, Pa., 220 F.3d 193 (3rd Cir. 2000), surprised both attorneys and health benefits experts by holding that it was a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to offer different benefits, terms, and conditions to Medicare-eligible retirees because of their age without meeting the “equal benefit or equal cost” standard. Health industry experts say the ruling “would be the death knell for retiree benefits” if it were to stand. See “HMOs May See Employer Market Shrink Under Federal Appeals Court Ruling,” Managed Medicare and Medicaid, August 28, 2000, 2000 WL 9419849.