Walmart provides employees access to fertility care

Walmart Inc. is launching a partnership with a national family-building benefits provider.

The discount giant has named Kindbody, a family-building benefits provider for employers, as the fertility provider for its new Center of Excellence (COE) for family-building benefits. Under the partnership, Walmart associates will have access to Kindbody’s network of facilities across the U.S., including a new clinic and in vitro fertilization (IVF) lab in Rogers, Ark. that will provide comprehensive virtual, at-home, and in-clinic care. This new facility is expected to open later in 2022.

Walmart’s collaboration with Kindbody is occurring as part of the retailer’s COE model, existing COE model, which provides benefit support and coverage for certain heart, spine and joint surgeries and cancer treatments, in partnership with healthcare providers and facilities around the country.

Walmart chooses Centers of Excellence through a selective process which requires health care providers to demonstrate an ability to provide excellent care, a dedication to addressing the root cause of a patient's condition, and an outstanding patient experience, among other key criteria that are reviewed.

Through this new family-building Center of Excellence, Walmart associates and their dependents who are enrolled in a self-insured Walmart medical plan will be able to receive fertility care from Kindbody practitioners, inclusive of board-certified reproductive endocrinologists and senior embryologists, at one of Kindbody’s clinics nationwide.

Services include fertility assessments and education, fertility preservation, genetic testing, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI).

Kindbody will also be available to help eligible associates obtain access to Walmart’s surrogacy and adoption benefits. These Walmart benefits include financial support of up to $20,000, lifetime maximum, for eligible surrogacy and adoption expenses.

The retailer’s benefits will continue to include enhanced maternity and parental leave for qualified full-time hourly and salaried associates, which allows birth mothers to receive up to 16 weeks of paid time off. New parents, including adoptive and foster parents, also receive six weeks paid parental leave to bond with a new child.

Walmart offers eligible employees a variety of family-planning and reproductive health services via its insurance coverage. The company recently expanded the type of medical cases for which its employee healthcare plans would cover abortion and related travel expenses, and provides coverage for associates receiving doula services in at least four states

“Providing access to high-quality health care is very important to us, and we’ve heard from our associates that improved access to fertility, surrogacy and adoption support is a priority for them and their families,” said Kim Lupo, senior VP, Walmart Global Total Rewards. “Through Kindbody, Walmart associates in every corner of the country will have access to a variety of services to aid in their family-planning journey.”

“We’re incredibly honored to become a Walmart Center of Excellence and provide high-quality care to Walmart associates, furthering our mission to make fertility and family-building care affordable and accessible for all,” said Gina Bartasi, founder and chairwoman of Kindbody. “Our partnership with Walmart signals that fertility benefits have joined medical, dental, and vision as standard workplace benefits for leading employers.”

Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,500 stores and multiple e-commerce websites under 46 banners in 24 countries.