When it comes to domestic partner health insurance, most
observers agree the insurance industry has morphed with the
times. As notions of traditional and common-law marriage,
as well as same-sex civil unions, have reconfigured, so has
family health insurance.
Over the past several years, many major corporations
decided to cover same-sex partners under their spousal and
family health insurance policies. Though some new couples
(gay or straight)don't realize it, they now have many of
the same rights and benefits as traditional spouses and
dependents. As with any other couple, it's merely a matter
of sitting down and figuring out what type of coverage they
need and what they can afford. To find out more, check out
these sites:
www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/benefits/domestic_partner_benef
its.htm www.healthsymphony.com/insurance101b.htm
www.usinsuranceonline.com/healthinsurance/resources/domestic
partners.php
"Most companies I work with cover domestic partners these
days," says Texas insurance agent Jaimie Marino, whose
company, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has clients
around the state. "The only thing you need to consider is
that you can't have a spouse or significant other living at
another address. If the [primary policy holder] fills out
an applicant/spouse form, the insurance companies usually
won't ask if you're officially married. They've never even
have asked me or my clients how long they've lived
together, much less whether they're married."
Marino deals with more than 20 companies, from Humana to
Unicare to United, and he says that, "There's nothing
that's going to trip up a domestic-partner couple that
wouldn't come up for [traditionally] married people. In my
experience, they don't even need a joint bank account. I've
never had an insurance company ask. As long as they reside
together and can prove that, it's fine."
According to the Human Rights Campaign, which began
lobbying the insurance industry on behalf of gay, lesbian,
and transgender couples in the 1980s, most employees
require that a same-sex couple or domestic partnership be
defined something like the following: "They are emotionally
and financially interdependent, do not have a different
domestic partner or spouse, have reached the age of
consent, and are not related."
That definition applies to many couples now, says Michael
Barnes, a writer for a daily newspaper (which provides
coverage for him and his spouse, a freelancer).
"It has been left to localities and individual businesses
and corporations to figure out what's best," says Barnes.
"And that seems to be working nationally, because if there
were a single plan or dictate enforced from above, it
wouldn't work, whereas now it's almost all on a voluntary
basis. And, from my research, it's clear that most of the
Fortune 500 companies include some form of domestic partner
benefits nowadays."
No question, the entire industry has changed dramatically
in the past few years. This timeline notes how far the
insurance industry has come over the past 20 years:
* In 1982, the Village Voice, based in New York, became the
first employer to extend benefits to domestic partners of
the same sex.
* By 1990, more than 20 American employers were offering
"spousal equivalent" benefits to their employees' same-sex
partners.
* As of 2006, a majority of Fortune 500 companies (the
largest U.S. corporations) were providing health insurance
for domestic partners of the same or opposite sex.
In short, don't be afraid to ask for domestic partner
health insurance. Chances are, it's yours for the asking.
----------------------------------------------------
US Insurance Online CEO Jim Waltrip is a self-taught
software developer and entrepreneur with a passion for
building things: teams of employees, software, and new
systems. Jim started US Insurance Online with business
partner Ryan Patterson in May 2005. Visit
http://www.USInsuranceOnline.com for insurance shopping
help and for free insurance quotes.
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