Domestic partners to be covered by county insurance

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The Larimer County commissioners, on a 2-to-1 vote, have approved adding domestic partners to the county's medical benefit plan. Employees may begin signing up for the benefit on July 1.

"I think it's an area we should take the lead on," said Larimer County Commissioner Randy Eubanks, who pushed for the policy change. "It's important as an issue of parity and will help to attract and retain employees."

Eubanks noted that his former employer, Hewlett-Packard Co., offers benefits to domestic partners. In Colorado, Boulder, Pitkin and Gunnison counties offer health insurance to domestic partners.

Commissioner Kathay Rennels supported the move, while Commissioner Glenn Gibson did not. "I think it's a good move and the right thing to do," said Rennels.

"I don't encourage this lifestyle," Gibson said. "I'm opposed until the state of Colorado recognizes [same-sex marriages]." Gibson said that long-term commitment of domestic partners was his biggest concern.

To qualify for the benefit, employees will have to sign an affidavit showing they are in a committed relationship. It will be basically the same as that required of employees who are in common-law marriages, said Wynette Reed, the county's human resources director.

"There are restrictions; it's not taken lightly," said Reed. Domestic partners will have to show they hold things in common such as bank accounts or a home.

Reed strongly supported the change, saying it's a "critical strategic move for the future." Middle America has a mix of committed relationships, she noted. She also said the addition of domestic partners to the benefit plan would be "almost cost-neutral" for the county.

"We don't know how many will sign up," Reed noted in a later interview. Only 14 percent of married employees' spouses are on the county's health insurance plan. Based on that statistic and the fact that about 5 percent of the nation's population are gay or lesbian, the county estimates that about 10 domestic partners will sign up for health insurance. That would cost about $37,000 per year, or 0.31 percent of the county's current health insurance cost of $12 million.

Dave Morante, vice president of people services for McWhinney Enterprises in Loveland, attended the commissioners' meeting and said his company added domestic partners to their benefit plan a couple of years ago. "The domestic partners in our organization felt really great that we were offering it," he said. He also noted that in McWhinney's experience, domestic partners stay in relationships as long as married people do.

Sheriff Jim Alderden criticized the commissioners' decision to cover domestic partners, calling the benefit a "non-issue" in terms of attracting and retaining employees.

"This will have a fiscal impact on our budget," he complained in "The Bull's-eye," his online newsletter. "It is difficult to reconcile this with the fact that we are constantly being told that the county is in dire financial straits."

Alderden called the decision "more in line with what we would expect from Berkley, San Francisco or Boulder."