But in all seriousness, I'm pissed because the LGBT provisions in the House version weren't passed along with this -- meaning that the premiums and employer pays for domestic partner insurance are considered income for the providing partner, leaving, depending on the plan, an income tax hit of several thousand dollars for the pair of them for the same exact coverage that a heterosexual spouse wouldn't have to pay on those premiums...it would just be the premiums. So they're *still* looking at a husband/wife duo paying additional premiums of, say, $100/mo vs. domestic partners paying a premium of $100/mo PLUS income tax on some $400 or so/mo. Nobody in the regular middle class can afford an extra $2K tax hit at the end of the year.
So backwards...and seems like it shouldn't be tough to fix, really, but it still is, leaving people to pay higher premiums for insurance plans that cover less, don't cover regular preventative check-ups, and really only function as catastrophic insurance if you're lucky, for somewhere around double the premium a partner could offer if the differential weren't taxed as income.
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03-23-2010, 01:03 AM
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