jeanne_d_arc ([info]jeanne_d_arc) wrote,
@ 2008-05-07 13:10:00
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There goes my health care
As the wife of a grad student this directly affects me. I'm now covered on L's health plan.

Michigan high court says gay partners can't get health benefits
Posted by David Eggert | The Associated Press May 07, 2008 11:48AM
Categories: Breaking News, State
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a 2004 ban against gay marriage also blocks governments and state universities from offering health insurance to the partners of gay workers.

The 5-2 decision affirms a state Court of Appeals ruling.

Up to 20 public universities, community colleges, school districts and local governments in Michigan have benefits policies covering at least 375 gay couples.

Some of the plans began as far back as the early 1990s.

After the appeals court ruled in February 2007, universities and local governments rewrote their policies to try to comply with the gay marriage ban -- so the effect of Wednesday's decision was unclear.

The new policies no longer specifically acknowledge domestic partnerships but make sure "other qualified adults," including gay partners, are eligible for medical and dental care.

The adults have to live together for a certain amount of time, be unmarried, share finances and be unrelated.



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[info]peaceofpie
2008-05-07 09:20 pm UTC (link)
WHAT?!

SERIOUSLY??

How does someone even justify that? That's fucking absurd. I can't even fathom. I'm...gonna go break something now.

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[info]peaceofpie
2008-05-08 05:47 pm UTC (link)
okay, i'm a little bit calmer now. not a lot, but a little. grrr.

what school is she at again? i can't remember.

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[info]jeanne_d_arc
2008-05-12 04:52 pm UTC (link)
She's at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. As a state school, it's part of the state government, hence the lawsuit to force us to abide by the anti-equality amendment. When the bigots were promoting the amendment in 2004 they swore it wouldn't affect healthcare. Then the EXACT SAME PEOPLE who pushed the amendment starting this lawsuit. We anticipate another lawsuit will follow forcing the university to drop same-gender spouces/partners from the list of "qualified adults" and I'm guessing we'll lose that one, too, but at least it will buy us a little time.
Can someone please explain to me how preventing me from going to a doctor will preserve the marriage of some straight couple that I probably have never even met?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


[info]peaceofpie
2008-05-12 04:57 pm UTC (link)
So is the University's intention to continue providing health insurance to same-gender partners unless forced to stop providing it?

What kind of penalty will they face if they provide it "illegally"?

And what is being done to fight this?

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[info]jeanne_d_arc
2008-05-12 05:38 pm UTC (link)
As best I can tell, the university wants to keep people like me on the health care plan. They said that their now overly complicated rules mean that they don't provide health care to same-gender spouces, just to "qualified adults" (which happens to include same-gender spouces but we're not going to talk about that outloud).
So far there have been no consequences to the university, no penalties, just the loses in court. At this point, there's not much else going on to fight it.

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Nice quote
(Anonymous)
2008-05-13 02:39 pm UTC (link)

If a thing's worth doing, it is worth doing badly.
-- G.K. Chesterton


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