Numbers steady for University of Wyoming domestic partner benefits

The number of University of Wyoming employees receiving reimbursement to help pay for health benefits for their domestic partners has remained steady since the program started in 2011.

That year, 27 employees enrolled in a program that offers up to about $650 in extra cash each month to employees whose same-sex or unmarried partners do not qualify for the state health plan, said Richard DelaCastro, director of human resources for UW.

Today, 28 employees are enrolled.

The system is imperfect, but there is no other alternative for same-sex couples on campus, said Anne Guzzo, a UW music professor, composer and native Wyomingite.

Currently, only an employee’s spouse and children are eligible for coverage under the state’s health insurance.

"It gets taxed out of my paycheck, so I lose about a third of it," Guzzo said of the benefit. "I don't think I'd rather go without it, but it feels deeply unfair."

For Guzzo and her partner, Bonnie Robinson, their frustration with the benefit's limitations extend beyond the health benefit issue. Guzzo, Robinson and three other couples are suing the state over its ban on same-sex marriage.

"I still don’t see why, in my world, why can’t my partner -- and we’ve been together four years -- why can’t we have the same benefits as our dear colleagues?" Guzzo said.

Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, said she worked for years on making the domestic partnership benefits available to UW employees. Connolly is the only openly gay member of the Wyoming Legislature.

In an email to the Star-Tribune, she too mentioned the reimbursement being taxed as income and said the reimbursement doesn't allow for the purchase of a health insurance package comparable to the state plan.

"I look forward to the day with full equivalency," she wrote. Connolly said her partner receives health insurance through her own employer.

To qualify for the benefit, employees must complete an affidavit stating that neither partner is in a marriage, that they're not closely related by blood and that they are each other's sole domestic partner responsible for the other's welfare.

Trustees agreed to cover the insurance costs of domestic partners to ensure that the school could compete for the top faculty and administrative candidates.

It was the first time a Wyoming state agency compensated insurance costs for its workers' same-sex partners. At the time, UW officials estimated that about 30 to 60 domestic partners would apply for the vouchers.

Today, the majority of the 28 employees enrolled in the plan are couples of the opposite sex, DelaCastro said.

"I love Wyoming, and I want to stay here for other reasons," Guzzo said. "But this benefits program would not even come close to keeping us here."

by Leah Todd, Casper, WY Star-Tribune staff writer.

Copyright 2014 trib.com, provided by the Associated Press.

The Gayly – July 7, 2014 @ 10am