For Gay Couples, Obstacles to Health Insurance

[Zenlitened]

By Walecia Konrad, The New York Times
Published: May 8, 2009

“It’s not easy being gay,” said Mary Jo Hudson, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. She wasn’t referring to political opposition and other obstacles, but the plight of same-sex couples who are trying to get and keep health insurance.

“You’ve got to go through a lot of hoops,” said Ms. Hudson, who is openly gay and has lived with her partner for eight years.

Same-sex couples have been making headlines; Maine followed the lead of Iowa and Vermont this week in legalizing same-sex marriage, and several other state legislatures are now considering it. But Ms. Hudson says that fairer and more comprehensive health care coverage for partners — whether they are legally married or not — is not necessarily part of the package.

(snip)

Even if the relationship is formalized with the state in a marriage or union, that does not always obligate the employer to cover a same-sex spouse. For one thing, self-insured employers are not regulated by the states.

And other benefit-providing employers that choose not to offer such coverage can sometimes use the Defense of Marriage Act — a law that forbids the federal government to recognize same-sex marriage — to trump state laws, said Ilse de Veer, a principal with Mercer.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/health/09patient.html?_r=1&hp

[Captain Hilts]

1. THIS is THE reason Canada permits gay marriage and the US does not. nt

[nichomachus]

2. You can say that again

If you want to know what's behind any policy -- follow the money -- and the trail leads right back to corporatism.

All this talk about the bible and "one man one woman" is just shit that's fed to the masses to obscure the fact they don't want to provide health care -- and other benefits connected to marriage.

If we had single universal payer health care, the opposition to same-sex marriage would lose all its funding, except perhaps from the mormon cult.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Creideiki]

6. But if someone gets drunk on a weekend trip to Las Vegas and ends up married...

employers should have to pay for their healthcare.

Funny how this all goes back to healthcare. Maybe if Obama could get behind single-payer universal health care, it would help insert a spine into Congressional Democrats.

[nichomachus]

8. Or -- is a heterosexual couple gets "married" just to get health care

which some do these days . . .

Or, if a gay man marries a lesbian in a phony marriage so that one of them can get health care . . .

[tbyg52]

7. I hope you didn't mean that the way it sounded. nt

[BeeBee]

4. I'm lucky...

My husband works for a large bank that provides partner benefits and I work for a small family-owned business that also provides them so we're both double covered.