Here are some of the responses we received. They make it clear that if you do the same work, you deserve the same benefits:
J in Nashville: “My partner is self employed, health
insurance would be much more expensive if not available through my employer and
would likely provide sub-standard benefits.”
E in Memphis: “It has made life better. My partner has
been uninsured for long periods of time, during which we have dealt with some
expensive health issues and both gone without lots of routine and needed
healthcare. Pretty ironic to work in
hospital and not be able to use their services. I would look for another job if mine did not
offer DP benefits, especially since many of our competitors offer them.”
A in Nashville: “My employer does offer health insurance
benefits for same sex domestic partners. However, my partner has top-notch
health insurance coverage (he works for the state of TN), so his policy is
significantly better than what my employer could offer. Thus, we have separate
policies from each of our employers.
This situation has affected our family negatively. The state of TN does not offer domestic partner benefits so I am unfairly kept from choosing the better policy; unlike opposite sex couples, I'm forced to settle for the lesser of the two. My policy has a deductible of $4,000; my partner's has no deductible. To make matters worse, of the two, I'm the one with the most medical needs. My co-pays and deductibles and out of pocket expenses exceed over $8,000 a year. If I was covered under his policy, our household's expenses would be reduced to aproximately less than $1,000 a year (a difference of aprox. $7,000).
I would not work for an employeer that would not offer same sex partner benefits. Same-sex couples are not treated equally at the state of TN.This kind of inequality is actually encouraging us to move to a different state.”
This situation has affected our family negatively. The state of TN does not offer domestic partner benefits so I am unfairly kept from choosing the better policy; unlike opposite sex couples, I'm forced to settle for the lesser of the two. My policy has a deductible of $4,000; my partner's has no deductible. To make matters worse, of the two, I'm the one with the most medical needs. My co-pays and deductibles and out of pocket expenses exceed over $8,000 a year. If I was covered under his policy, our household's expenses would be reduced to aproximately less than $1,000 a year (a difference of aprox. $7,000).
I would not work for an employeer that would not offer same sex partner benefits. Same-sex couples are not treated equally at the state of TN.This kind of inequality is actually encouraging us to move to a different state.”
P in Memphis: “Both of us are HIV+ which means we have
some medications that are very expensive. Even with insurance our medical costs
are sometimes challenging but I don't know how people without medical insurance
survive. If my employer wasn't able to include my partner under my health
insurance I would have to seek a different job.”
T in Nashville: “I am legally married in New York. I served
in the military and one year in AmeriCorps. Because I cannot access her
benefits at work, we are forced to pay hundreds of dollars a month for a
private plan for me. This is money that is not going into our economy. I am lucky
however. I am young and healthy enough to be able to purchase health insurance.
I don't know what we would do if this were not the case obviously we knew this
when we decided to make our partnership legal.wow it did not deter us from getting
married, it is certainly a bitter pill to swallow when one thinks that a
straight couple could meet and marry each other in a matter of hours or days
and access these benefits which are denied to us for an educated person, this
is very difficult to wrap my head around.”
D in Chattanooga: “My company has offered DP benefits for as
long as I have worked there (almost 4 years now). My partner recently lost his
job and I was able to put him and our daughter on my insurance. Had my company
not offered DP benefits they both would have lost their coverage.”
D in Cookeville: “My wife is an adjunct professor at a
University. Since it is considered a part-time job health insurance is not
offered to her. She has a life-long illness that requires medication. Before
working for _______ we had to try to manage to pay for her medication out of
pocket and sometimes she went without often to the detriment of her health. I
commute to Nashville from Cookeville to work and will continue to do so to make
sure I can provide health coverage for my entire family. “
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