US gay partner health insurance

Thu, 19 Oct 2006

A new study carried out in the USA reveals that employment-based health insurance is currently unequal for couples of same-sex orientation, and also for unmarried heterosexual couples. Although the survey is strictly US based, the news does have some resonance for UK employer -based health insurance .

The study was carried out by the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy . Their documents indicate that employer health insurance is unmarried and same-sex couples were significantly less likely to be participants in group health insurance policies .

The study team concluded that employers should think about offering health insurance to domestic partners. A research director at the Williams Institute said: "Most Americans who are younger than 65 get health insurance through their own job or a family member's job, so excluding employees' partners from coverage puts unmarried couples at a big disadvantage."

The co-author of the study, Michael Ash, said: "Our study found that employers offering domestic partnership benefits would see only a small enrolment increase of 1.4% to 2.1% of its overall workforce and small enrolment increases mean very small cost increases."

The study also raises a host of issues over same-sex marriage, a procedure that is illegal in almost every US state.
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