We’re currently in our open enrollment period for insurance benefits through Steve’s work. I was going over all our benefits the other night and comparing costs of different plans (of course they’ve all changed since last year). As I was going through the benefits I noticed multiple categories of associates. They listed:
Associate
Associate + Spouse
Associate + Child(ren)
Family
Associate + Domestic Partner
Associate + Domestic Partner + Child(ren)

I have no problems offering insurance benefits to Domestic partners…whatever. What I did have a problem with was the fact that the “Family” plan was more expensive than the “Associate + Domestic Partner + Child(ren)” plan. I sat confused. Why in the world would I be paying more for insurance because I’m legally married? It’s not a huge difference- $10+ dollars a month (for our plan) but still, why in the world is there a difference? Dental is cheaper as well if you claim “Associate + Domestic Partner + Child(ren)”. I decided I would call the provider and ask…they were speechless. At first they told me that I was wrong. Another look at their system confirmed I was right and the lady I spoke with was just as confused as I was. She couldn’t come up with a good explanation…she couldn’t come up with a bad explanation. She just told me she agreed with me in that it was wrong to be charging more for a “legal family”.

Did I accomplish anything from this phone call? No. Do I hope that the lady I spoke with brings it up with someone else who recognizes it as an issue as well and hopefully through a domino effect it’s resolved? Yes. But I won’t hold my breath- I was just tired of having the minority speak louder than the majority!