The Metro Government in Louisville, Kentucky, has decided to extend health insurance coverage to the domestic partners of city employees. This decision was made, in part, so the government would stay competitive with companies that already were offering health benefits for domestic partners.
Right now, the majority of Americans who have health insurance coverage are able to afford it because it comes from their employer. Companies that want to attract the most qualified, best skilled, hardest working employees are going to have to find a way to compete with rival companies for the attention of those potential employees. One way to do that is to provide better health insurance than the other companies are offering.
Many Fortune 500 companies have started offering domestic partner benefits. State Farm insurance is among those companies, and so is Humana, (just to name a few). Starting on July 1, 2012, city employees in Louisville, Kentucky, will be able to have their domestic partners covered through the health insurance of the employee.
This extension of health insurance coverage is being offered to city employees for several reasons. The city wants to offer benefits that will be competitive with the ones offered by private sector employers, in order to attract the best potential employees.
Mayor Greg Fischer, who signed the order that gives the extension, wants Louisville to “value all employees, and all families, equally”. People, both inside and outside of the government, have been working for years to have city health insurance cover people’s domestic partners.
In order for a city employee to have his or her health insurance cover a domestic partner, there are certain qualifications that must be met. The partner must be at least 18 years old. The partner must not currently be eligible for Medicare. The partner must have been living in the employee’s home for nine months or more.
The couple must be “financially independent” for nine months or longer. Proof must be provided in the form of joint checking accounts, joint mortgage statements, or joint utility billing statements. A joint apartment lease is also acceptable. If everything looks good, then the city employee’s domestic partner will receive the same medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage as the partner who is employeed by the city.
It is worth noting that gender identity and sexual orientation are not among the classes that are protected against discrimination by Kentucky’s current civil rights law. This means that the city of Louisville is not legally obligated to provide health insurance coverage for the domestic partners of city employees. They are making the choice to extend the health insurance benefits.
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