Pro-LGBT Health Reforms Emerge

The House version of the health reform legislation contains several pro-LGBT provisions, including one that would equalize the tax treatment for domestic-partner benefits.

The federal government currently views domestic-partner benefits as taxable income, which results in higher taxation of both employees who cover their same-sex partners and employers that offer such benefits.

Under the guidelines authored by Rep. Jim McDermott of Washington, enrolling a same-sex partner, a partner’s dependent children, or an employee’s adult children in employer-based benefits would carry no extra tax penalties. Supporters of the change hope that more medium to small businesses would offer the benefits if the complexities and additional tax burdens were eliminated.

“The whole premise behind domestic-partner benefits is equal pay for equal work and this will truly bring 100% equity in terms of taxation,” said David Smith, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Though the language was not included in Wednesday’s version of the health care legislation, revisions were made to the re-write presented for consideration Thursday in the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy.

But whether the provision will be included on the Senate side remains to be seen. New York senator Chuck Schumer, who is the lead sponsor of the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, also sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which presides over taxation policies. Although the Senate Finance Committee is aware of the issue, people close to the process say the provision’s fate in the Senate largely depends on how bipartisan their bill is.

“The prospects for inclusion of this fix in the Senate health bill will turn in significant measure on whether the Senate finance committee product is bipartisan,” said James Delaplane, a consultant working for the Human Rights Campaign. “The likelihood increases if it comes forth as more of a Democratic package.”

The policy change is also viewed favorably by some Republicans since it is generally seen as a pro-business proposition. For that reason, Delaplane believes that, even if it is excluded from the Senate version, it may not meet with stiff resistance if and when the House and Senate health bills are reconciled.

“The critical thing is that it come forward in one of the two bills,” he said. “If we get to that stage, there will be a reasonable opportunity to see it in the final bill that goes to the president.”

Of course, the prospect that a health reform bill of any kind will reach President Barack Obama’s desk remains an open question. The president is urging lawmakers to finalize a bill before the August recess, but Republicans and even some Democrats are balking at that timeline.

Other pro-LGBT provisions that have been included in the House health legislation include:
-inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal data collection and health disparity programs;
-early treatment for HIV under Medicaid, so that individuals do not have to receive an AIDS diagnosis before accessing coverage;
-protections for LGBT people from discrimination by insurance companies or health care providers based on personal characteristics that are unrelated to health care.