Amazon to supply reproductive care to 1 million employees

Amazon, the US’ second-largest employer, will now offer fertility and family planning services to employees through a partnership with Maven Clinic. The free offering will likely be available to greater 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 can have access to all the services provided by Maven, including board-certified reproductive endocrinologists and OB-GYNs, in addition to nutritionists and mental healthcare providers. 

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

Maven has aimed to make reproductive healthcare more accessible for workers, often citing the incontrovertible fact that only half of the counties in America have access to an OB-GYN. The 2-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company was the primary female-focused health start-up valued at over $1 billion. It has raised greater than $291 million from firms like CVS Health Ventures and Intermountain Health’s VC arm, in addition to 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 firms with partnerships with Maven.

The continued challenges around reproductive health care within the U.S. highlights why there was 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 firms who were looking for each healthcare opportunities for his or her pregnant employees, in addition to travel advantages that may include but are usually not limited to travel for abortion procedures. What’s more, a survey by Maven revealed that 71% of firms are considering adding or have added reproductive health advantages within the wake of the choice. 

Maven just isn’t the one company focused on women’s health technology, also known as femtech, that has been making headlines. Kindbody, a fellow 2023 CNBC Disruptor, offers fertility and family planning care to varied firms including Walmart. Progyny, founded by Gina Bartasi (who also founded Kindbody), is one other femtech company that went public in 2019. Femtech is a growing industry, with experts estimating it would be value $1.186 trillion by 2027.

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

The necessity for firms to supply fertility advantages is growing, each 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 higher family planning advantages. 

Along with making the workplace more equitable, offering fertility advantages can increase worker loyalty. Roughly two-thirds of employees who received fertility advantages felt more commitment to the corporate, based on FertilityIQ’s 2019-2020 Family-Constructing Workplace Index. 

“There are lots of different options on this journey, so having a company-provided resource that helps you only in that journey is actually something that could be a global need,” said Amazon director of worldwide advantages Lian Neeman on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”