The Evils of DOMA: COBRA and Health Care
I spoke yesterday about the importance of the word "marriage" and why it was impossible to fight for the rights without also fighting for the word. Many current federal programs and benefits only recognize married partners. While we do not yet know how the federal government will deal will civil unions and domestic partnerships following the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—the statute allowing the federal government to ignore same-sex spouses—it is unlikely that the federal definition of marriage will be expanded to include these other relationships. As a result, despite states like Oregon, Washington, and Nevada offering expanded domestic partnerships with all of the rights and responsibilities of marriage, only same-sex partners married under the laws of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, or New Hampshire would actually have access to these federal programs.
COBRA is a federal law that allows workers who were laid off by an employer who staffs more than 20 employees to retain their health insurance benefits for themselves and for their spouses and children. Because of DOMA, COBRA does not currently apply to any same-sex couple. This means that the gays and lesbians among the current 30 million unemployed Americans are also being denied affordable healthcare for their families. The repeal of DOMA is necessary, but will still not suffice in the states in which same-sex couples have "won" the rights of marriage but not the word.
While I appreciate to some extent those who say they support civil equality for gays and lesbians but not the conveyance of the word marriage, they must understand that domestic partnerships cannot simulate all of the rights of marriage. Even with the assistance of an attorney and every legal document he could produce, same-sex couples can not be equal until they can marry.
Have any insight on this topic? Want to ask a question or make a suggestion? Click here to leave a comment.
Related Articles
- DOMA Takes a Hit
- Respect for Marriage Act - The DOMA Killer
- The American Bar Association and DOMA
- GLAD Challenges DOMA in Federal Court
- DOMA Challenge in Federal Tax Court
This is quite frustrating for many cases I've dealt with and it all came down to the technicalities of what is considered coverable
- Cindy, 01/13/10 at 3:49 pm