End
the
tax
on
DP
benefitsAS
OF
JAN.
1,
2007,
for
the
first
time
in
my
adult
life,
I
am
on
someone
else’s
health
insurance.
That
someone
else
is
the
woman
with
whom
I’ve
lived
for
10
years
and
to
whom
I
have
made
a
lifetime
commitment.
Still,
it
makes
me
uncomfortable
to
not
be
working
for
my
own
health
insurance.
I’m
grateful,
however,
that
she
works
for
one
of
the
larger
companies
in
the
United
States
that
offers
domestic
partner
benefits.
I’m
also
pleased
that
she’s
over
the
rage
at
the
amount
of
paperwork
that
she
had
to
complete
to
“certify”
that
we
are
domestic
partners
when
her
heterosexual
colleagues
need
only
say
that
they
are
married.
There
are
tax
consequences
to
this
arrangement,
of
course.
We
considered
them
carefully
prior
to
making
this
decision.
After
all,
I
could
have
purchased
health
insurance
independently.
The
benefits
that
I
am
provided
will
be
taxed
as
additional
income
for
her.
This
will
increase
our
annual
tax
bill,
filed
and
paid
separately,
as
the
IRS
doesn’t
recognize
our
co-mingled
financial
lives.
I’d
like
to
say
that
extra
tax
burden
is
a
small
price
to
pay
for
having
good
health
insurance
through
a
major
corporation.
It
would
be,
too,
if
our
heterosexual
counterparts
were
taxed
in
the
same
ways.
In
fact,
it
feels
like
a
privilege
to
have
access
to
this
health
insurance
and
certainly
my
partner
works
hard
for
it.
I
CAN’T
HELP
thinking,
however,
that
health
insurance
shouldn’t
be
a
privilege.
It
should
be
something
that
is
provided
to
everyone
living
in
the
United
States
as
a
consequence
of
being
here
and
contributing
in
large
and
small
ways
to
our
collective
lives.
A
few
years
ago,
I
visited
Australia,
an
industrialized
country
with
single-payer,
government-provided
health
insurance.
Australian
residents
rave
about
their
health
care
system.
Recently
there
has
been
a
debate
about
whether
or
not
the
health
care
system
should
cover
in
vitro
fertilization
(IVF)
for
lesbian
couples.
When
I
feel
optimistic,
I
think
about
what
it
would
be
like
to
have
that
debate
here
in
the
United
States.
Then
I
watched
President
Bush’s
State
of
the
Union
address.
He
doesn’t
want
to
make
health
insurance
available
to
everyone.
Instead
he
wants
to
create
a
system
whereby
health
insurance
is
less
accessible
to
more
people.
President
Bush’s
plan
of
giving
tax
credits
to
low
income
people
to
purchase
health
insurance,
the
very
same
group
of
people
who
already
pay
the
least
in
taxes,
is
the
equivalent
of
saying,
“We
really
don’t
care
if
you
have
health
insurance
or
not.”
Unfortunately,
in
the
United
States
today,
that
also
means,
“We
don’t
really
care
whether
you
live
or
die.”
To
the
middle
class,
Bush
says,
“Sure
you
can
have
health
insurance,
but
not
really
good
health
insurance
or
we’ll
tax
you
more.”
As
usual
he’s
saving
all
of
the
good
benefits
for
the
rich.
I
HOPE
THAT
the
American
people
recognize
this
health
insurance
fraud
for
what
it
is
and
reject
it.
I’m
not
necessarily
happy
with
our
health
care
system
today
and
would
welcome
further
reforms,
but
let’s
not
make
a
bad
system
worse.
If
there
are
going
to
be
changes
to
health
insurance
and
its
tax
treatment
in
this
Congress,
I
hope
that
the
members
of
the
Democratic
Party,
who
always
seem
to
have
their
hands
out
to
the
gay
and
lesbian
community
when
it
is
time
to
raise
money
for
elections,
will
do
something
of
real
value
for
the
gay
and
lesbian
community
and
remove
the
federal
tax
on
domestic
partner
benefits.
It’s
a
small
thing
that
would
mean
a
lot.
Maybe
I’m
aiming
too
low
and
should
ask
the
Democrats
to
pass
a
comprehensive,
single-payer
health
insurance
plan.
That
would
be
great,
but
in
the
absence
of
that,
I’d
be
happy
if
they
would
fix
the
tax
on
our
domestic
partner
benefits.
