You Shouldn’t Have to Ask: Open and Inclusive Insurance

Then, a few days later, Trynity Mirell posted that she was looking for a new job, but could only consider roles with trans-inclusive health insurance. It seems obvious in retrospect, but I’d never thought of it before: for some people, the fine print in the insurance coverage is the difference between being able to take a job or not.

Then I realized how common this challenge is. If you’re living with chronic illness, are expecting a child, are planning major surgery, or suffering from mental health issues, you need to know if your job will cover your needs. The fine print on a health insurance plan could turn your dream job into a financial catastrophe. In some parts of the country, even benefits we here in Seattle take for granted (like the coverage of contraception) are at the whims of the plan or employer.

I had no idea if our insurance was inclusive. It had never occurred to me to check. But it didn’t take much imagination to realize the predicament of someone searching for a job, knowing that the details of the health insurance offered could spell bankruptcy for them. What’s worse, there’s no way to find out the answers short of asking directly – an uncomfortable conversation for some people that could expose the job-seeker to questions and illegal discrimination.

It’s not fair to force candidates to disclose these deeply personal matters in the course of a job interview. I sat down with our head of business operations to try and find a way to fix this. We wound up doing two things that we think are extremely important, and we urge other companies to do the same.

First, we’re posting the full insurance summaries of our current insurance plans. Candidates can look at these documents even before applying to understand what coverage we offer and know if it will work for them.

Second, we asked our health plan representatives about major issues that we’ve heard are important and are not addressed in the insurance summary, and are sharing the answers here:

• Fertility treatments are covered when they treat an underlying condition, but not otherwise.
• IVF is not covered, but we offer help through a separate plan with WIN fertility.
• Abortion care is covered.
• Gender affirmation surgery and other transgender-related care is covered if approved as medically necessary.
• Our new “Flight to safety” program covers transportation if abortion or gender-affirming care is not available in your state.