Amazon to offer reproductive care to 1 million employees

Amazon, the United States’ second-largest employer, will now offer fertility and family planning services to employees through a partnership with Maven Clinic. The free offering will be available to more than 1 million eligible Amazon employees spread across 50 countries outside of the U.S. and Canada.

Through this partnership, Amazon employees and their partners in select countries will have access to all of the services provided by Maven, including board-certified reproductive endocrinologists and OB-GYNs, as well as nutritionists and mental healthcare providers. 

As of May 2023, Maven oversaw the care of over 15 million patients. The addition of Amazon to the company’s partnership portfolio means an increase of about 7% in patients under Maven’s care. 

Maven has aimed to make reproductive healthcare more accessible for employees, often citing the fact that only half of the counties in America have access to an OB-GYN. The two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company was the first female-focused health start-up valued at over $1 billion. It has raised more than $291 million from firms like CVS Health Ventures and Intermountain Health’s VC arm, as well as several high-profile women including Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Natalie Portman, and Reese Witherspoon.

Amazon will join Microsoft, AT&T, Snap, SoFi, and L’Oreal as companies with partnerships with Maven.

The continued challenges around reproductive health care in the U.S. highlights why there has been strong corporate interest in partnering with Maven. Of industrialized countries, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate. 

After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, Maven Clinic saw a 67% month-over-month increase in companies who were seeking both healthcare opportunities for their pregnant employees, as well as travel benefits that can include but are not limited to travel for abortion procedures. What’s more, a survey by Maven revealed that 71% of companies are considering adding or have added reproductive health benefits in the wake of the decision. 

Maven is not the only company focused on women’s health technology, often referred to as femtech, that has been making headlines. Kindbody, a fellow 2023 CNBC Disruptor, offers fertility and family planning care to various companies including Walmart. Progyny, founded by Gina Bartasi (who also founded Kindbody), is another femtech company that went public in 2019. Femtech is a growing industry, with experts estimating it will be worth $1.186 trillion by 2027.

“[The partnership] continues to grow our market and continues to prove to the world that when you take care of women and families, not only do you have a better healthcare system in all of these countries but you have a better company,” Maven Clinic CEO and founder Kate Ryder said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday.

The need for companies to offer fertility benefits is growing, both for heterosexual couples and same-sex couples. One in eight couples in America struggle to conceive, and 79% of LGBTQ+ employees would consider leaving their current job for one with better family planning benefits. 

In addition to making the workplace more equitable, offering fertility benefits can increase employee loyalty. Approximately two-thirds of employees who received fertility benefits felt more commitment to the company, according to FertilityIQ’s 2019-2020 Family-Building Workplace Index. 

“There are many different options on this journey, so having a company-provided resource that helps you just in that journey is really something that is a global need,” said Amazon director of global benefits Lian Neeman on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”