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Maryland
Passes
Gay
Partner Health Care Bill
by
365Gay.com From the Web, April 10, 2007
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Annapolis, Maryland -- The
Maryland House of Delegates has passed legislation requiring health insurance
companies to write policies inclusive of domestic partners and children up to
the age of 25, at the request of an employer.
The 122-18 vote came with less than an hour before the end of the 2007 session.
The bill has already been approved by the Senate and now goes to the governor
for signing.
Equality Maryland proposed the legislation after hearing from numerous members
that their employers would offer domestic partner benefits but were unable to
purchase a policy from their insurance companies.
"The bill is the first step in reforming health care access for fair-minded
employers who want to offer extended family coverage," Equality Maryland said in
a statement Tuesday.
The measure received bipartisan support.
Republican Delegate A. Wade Kach commented that, "While I may not agree with
Equality Maryland on every issue, I am happy that the vital topic of health care
access was one which we could find common ground."
The bill was one of several victories at the Assembly this session.
Legislation was passed authorizing insurers that issue policies of group life
insurance to extend coverage to the domestic partner of the employee or member
who is covered under a policy of group life insurance.
A third bill that passed would allow gay and lesbian Marylanders to sue for
compensatory damages in discrimination cases.
The legislation marks a first for gay and lesbian Marylanders who have faced
employment discrimination.
Current Maryland law only allows workers to bring claims of employment
discrimination to Federal courts, not state courts. This effectively denies
access to the courts altogether for gay and lesbian Marylanders, who are not
protected from discrimination under Federal law.
In addition, an attempt to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage
was defeated in committee.
Meanwhile, gay couples throughout the state are awaiting a ruling on marriage
from the state's highest court.
The Court of Appeals heard the case in January.
The ACLU argued that law barring gay couples from marrying violates the Maryland
constitution's Equal Rights Amendment, which protects against sex
discrimination.
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