Posted on Mar 27, 2022
Some Starbucks workers forgo paychecks to access IVF treatments
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Leah Russell felt a surge of hope when she spotted Starbucks on a list of employers that offer fertility benefits in the summer of 2019. She and her husband, Stephen, were desperate to start the family they had been dreaming of since they started dating a decade ago. The couple had recently learned they would need to pay $30,000 for another round of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, treatment after two rounds failed to result in a pregnancy.
“The price tag was just more than we could have ever imagined paying,” said Russell, 28.
Russell said she and her husband had already been rejected by three banks for a loan to cover the additional cost of IVF, the only thing their doctor said might help them conceive. Nebraska, where they live, is one of dozens of states that don’t require insurers to offer coverage for fertility treatments, meaning Stephen and Leah would be on their own to pay for medical help.
“The price tag was just more than we could have ever imagined paying,” said Russell, 28.
Russell said she and her husband had already been rejected by three banks for a loan to cover the additional cost of IVF, the only thing their doctor said might help them conceive. Nebraska, where they live, is one of dozens of states that don’t require insurers to offer coverage for fertility treatments, meaning Stephen and Leah would be on their own to pay for medical help.
Some Starbucks workers forgo paychecks to access IVF treatments
Posted from nbcnews.com
Starbucks
Medical
Health
Pregnancy
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Most of the companies in Nebraska that choose to offer fertility coverage are two-hour drives away from the Russells’ home in South Sioux City. Starbucks was one of the only opportunities nearby, which covers up to $10,000 in fertility drugs and $25,000 in fertility treatments for its workers.
“This was my one and only shot, and I’m so grateful that it existed,” Russell said.
Leah and Stephen Russell in September on the ninth anniversary of their first date.
Leah and Stephen Russell in September on the ninth anniversary of their first date.Leah Russell
Starbucks, which faces a national labor organizing campaign, has long been known among people struggling with infertility as one of the only major U.S. employers to offer coverage for procedures like IVF to part-time workers. Word about Starbucks’ benefits has spread widely online in recent years. A Facebook group for people who are interested in or already using the perk to start families has more than 8,400 members. On TikTok, videos under the hashtag #StarbucksIVFbaby have amassed over 8.8 million views. The benefits have drawn people across the country to join the company as baristas, like Russell.
But for hourly workers, taking advantage of what Starbucks calls its “world-class” benefits package, including benefits like fertility care, can come with a catch. Six current and former Starbucks employees who joined the company to receive IVF treatment said the premiums for the insurance plans they chose either almost or completely exceeded their paychecks. In some cases, the employees, who worked 20 to 35 hours a week, even accumulated debt with Starbucks. To make ends meet, they said, they relied on their partners’ incomes or worked second jobs."...
..."Most of the companies in Nebraska that choose to offer fertility coverage are two-hour drives away from the Russells’ home in South Sioux City. Starbucks was one of the only opportunities nearby, which covers up to $10,000 in fertility drugs and $25,000 in fertility treatments for its workers.
“This was my one and only shot, and I’m so grateful that it existed,” Russell said.
Leah and Stephen Russell in September on the ninth anniversary of their first date.
Leah and Stephen Russell in September on the ninth anniversary of their first date.Leah Russell
Starbucks, which faces a national labor organizing campaign, has long been known among people struggling with infertility as one of the only major U.S. employers to offer coverage for procedures like IVF to part-time workers. Word about Starbucks’ benefits has spread widely online in recent years. A Facebook group for people who are interested in or already using the perk to start families has more than 8,400 members. On TikTok, videos under the hashtag #StarbucksIVFbaby have amassed over 8.8 million views. The benefits have drawn people across the country to join the company as baristas, like Russell.
But for hourly workers, taking advantage of what Starbucks calls its “world-class” benefits package, including benefits like fertility care, can come with a catch. Six current and former Starbucks employees who joined the company to receive IVF treatment said the premiums for the insurance plans they chose either almost or completely exceeded their paychecks. In some cases, the employees, who worked 20 to 35 hours a week, even accumulated debt with Starbucks. To make ends meet, they said, they relied on their partners’ incomes or worked second jobs."...
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