CEBC Meeting
4/7/98
In attendance: Reggie Gauger, Bob Paulos, Janice Czyscon, Rich Keeling (guest speaker), Walt Hopkins
Domestic Partnership Benefits Update--Rich Keeling
Student piece
Library cards and athletic tickets are already available for student domestic partners. Health insurance is the big benefit not currently available. University-sponsored health insurance plan: 2,000 international students and 2,000 domestic students buy it each year.
We had 9 bids and 8 out of 9 included domestic partnership benefits. UNITY won the bid. UNITY is UW Health's HMO. They include domestic partnership benefits in the plan. It is in the contract language. There is a 2-page specification of domestic partner. It follows the City of Madison definition.
The negotiating point with UNITY is why domestic partners have to prove they are domestic partners. Married couples don't have to show a marriage license to apply for insurance. This discussion should not make or break the issuance of domestic partner benefits.
UNITY says it can work things out with the Insurance Commissioner. The University is saying "Fine, go ahead and work with the Insurance Commissioner."
UNITY has domestic partnership in its plan for Middleton teachers. It has not been challenged by the Insurance Commissioner.
Currently, people cannot register as opposite sex domestic partners with UNITY or the City of Madison.
Nationally, there's no consensus on domestic partnership definition. Some definitions and insurance plans include opposite sex couples and others include only same sex couples.
UNITY could allow same sex and opposite sex couples to be domestic partners. (Since there is no state language defining domestic partnership, there is no state limitation on who UNITY could insure.)
Same sex couples cost insurance companies less than opposite sex couples. (i.e. insurance companies make more money on same-sex couples.)
Competitive pressure is another reason insurance companies are offering domestic partner benefits. Provision of domestic partner benefits is a good recruiting tool.
UW-Madison faculty and academic staff have made affirmations of domestic partner benefits. The system Economic Benefits Committee met and heard testimony about this issue in fall 1997.
Insurance plans are governed by state statute and regulations of Employee Trust Funds. These would have to be changed to include domestic partner. We need to get Katharine Lyall to advance this as a system issue (requires regent approval) and then get the support of all other state units.
Tammy Baldwin says you do not have to change existing regulations. You can look at existing regs and interpret them to include domestic partners.
In summary, it will be much more complicated to get domestic partner benefits for staff than for students.
A regulatory solution is more desirable than a statutory solution because it can be done under the radar.
What can CEBC do?
Each school/college has a diversity committee. They have been influential in forming Chancellor Ward's support for domestic partnership benefits. CEBC can work through these committees to get support from the Chancellor to the President.
CEBC can get the names of the diversity committee chairs from Greg Vincent. CEBC can talk to Greg Vincent and Provost Wiley. CEBC can draft a statement and try to get more people involved.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Czyscon