MONEY MONEY MONEY: DC LOOKS AT COST OF SSM BENEFITS: From the Washington Times

Businesses should expect some changes in their benefits plans if the District recognizes same-sex "marriage" from other areas in the country, several analysts say.

But how much more it would cost to businesses to add domestic partners as "spouses" on health and life insurance coverage is still not known.

D.C. Council member Jim Graham, Ward 1 Democrat, last month introduced a resolution for the Council to work with Mayor Anthony A. Williams to recognize "marriage" from jurisdictions such as Massachusetts, which plans to start issuing "marriage" licenses to homosexual couples in May. ...

According to a 2000 study by global management-consulting company Hewitt Associates, about 22 percent of companies nationwide offer domestic-partner benefits.

At more than half of the companies in the study, fewer than 1 percent of eligible employees used the coverage.

Those plans made up less than 1 percent of total benefits costs because of the smaller enrollment and types of benefits used.

Medical and dental coverage were the most frequently extended benefits for domestic partners, the study said.

Gene Fairbrother, a small-business consultant in Dallas, argued the shift of tax burden to employers would be significant.

"Anytime you add on any additional benefits cost to the employer, you have an increase in the cost of doing business that eventually is passed down to the consumer," Mr. Fairbrother said.

But for companies bringing in new employees, the cost between having an employee with a wife or a homosexual partner would not change if spousal benefits were extended to the partner, said Ken McDonnell, a research analyst with the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a D.C. nonprofit research group.

In the end, companies can opt out of offering any benefits, avoiding the issue altogether, Mr. Fairbrother said.

more
posted by Eve at 5:25 PM | link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home