New York City is expanding its family planning benefits for some municipal employees by offering to reimburse them up to $10,000 for costs related to adoption, surrogacy and egg and sperm donation, Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday. But just a small fraction of the city government's workforce will be eligible.
Still, the new suite of benefits will help put New York City on par with employers in the private sector while aiding LGBTQ+ employees and others looking to build their families, according to city officials.
“To be the greatest city in the world, you have to attract and retain the greatest talent in the world, and that means making New York City the best city in the nation to build and raise a family,” Adams said in a statement.
Because these benefits are only available to non-union employees, only 5% of the city workforce will be able to take advantage of them. Approximately 350,000 unionized city workers will not be eligible.
Adams spokesperson Liz Garcia said it would be “up to the unions” to decide whether they want the same benefits. Unions bargain with the city over health benefits as part of their contract negotiations.
Henry Garrido, president of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal labor union, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some advocates for LGBTQ+ equality praised the move to expand family planning benefits. “Providing resources for adoption, surrogacy and other options is essential for LGBTQ+ families, who have historically lacked this support,” Melissa D’Andrea Sullivan, executive director of the group PFLAG NYC, said in a statement.
The announcement comes as the city is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit over allegations that it has discriminated against gay male employees for not providing them the same coverage for in-vitro fertilization as other city workers. Peter Romer-Friedman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the suit, said the playing field remains unequal for gay men employed by the city.
“This is a good start,” Romer-Friedman said. “But again, this isn't a substitute for providing the full suite of benefits that other employees receive.”
The city covers up to three rounds of IVF for workers who can prove they’re unable to conceive naturally or through intrauterine insemination. But the lawsuit alleges the city’s coverage is discriminatory because same-sex male couples are unable to meet the criteria for being infertile, unlike straight couples, single women or same-sex female couples.
The new family planning benefits do not appear to have the same strings attached. But the $10,000 reimbursement still falls short of matching the full IVF benefits afforded to other city employees, Romer-Friedman said. He said the class-action lawsuit also seeks damages for gay male employees who have had to pay out of pocket for these services in the past.
The city and the plaintiffs in the case have agreed to resolve the conflict through mediation, which will take place March 10, according to Romer-Friedman.
The new subsidy also has other limitations. It does not currently cover the costs of freezing eggs for women seeking to extend their fertility, though that is under consideration, Adams' office said. At NYU Langone Health, the procedure's cost starts at roughly $10,000.
Garcia, the mayoral spokesperson, said the city will cover the procedure for those looking to have children under surrogacy. She said the city’s health plan has already been paying for egg freezing for those dealing with infertility.
About 19% of large employers in the United States offer health plans that cover egg freezing, according to a survey from the corporate health benefits consultant Mercer.
