Why should we pay more for insurance?
by Terry Earls and Troy Kaser
Terry Earls, 29, and Troy Kaser, 27, have been together going on five years. In mid 2000, Troy and Terry each left their jobs in the software industry to join a small start-up company. For a while, things were going well. However, it became evident in late 2001 that the future of the company was precarious. The small company originally offered health care benefits, but with the market conditions souring, the benefits were no longer being offered. They decided that one of them would leave and find a more stable job, especially one with health care benefits that would cover them both.
So, in early 2002, Terry left his old job and began working at a software company with a benefit plan that covers the employee and his or her same-sex domestic partner. After filing an affidavit of his relationship with Troy, Terry's benefits plan provided Troy with medical and dental coverage.
They soon learned that although the company completely covered Troy, the benefits were treated very differently in the tax code because Terry and Troy are not legally recognized as spouses. The IRS required the employer to report the value of Troy's benefits as additional taxable income. Therefore, the federal tax Terry paid as an employee was based on his salary plus the cost of Troy's health care.
“I was horrified to see that each month I was being taxed on an additional $320 of income above what I ever received as salary,” says Terry. “When I started to think more about it, I realized just how completely unfair it is that if Troy were my wife, this would be completely free. I didn't choose to be gay – it's just who I am. The government first prohibits me from legally marrying Troy, and then taxes me because I'm not married to him when I want to provide him with health care!"
Troy eventually left the start-up company and now works where he has his own health care coverage, although not as comprehensive as the coverage at Terry’s employer. While Terry could keep Troy as a dependent on the plan and supplement Troy's health care coverage, they decided that it's too costly to pay taxes on the additional insurance.
This kind of discrimination has caused Terry and Troy to become more involved in supporting gay rights organizations, most notably the Human Rights Campaign.
“I passionately believe that it's not the government's role to discriminate against me -- an individual who pays as much, if not more, in taxes than the next guy, who works just as hard, who supports the community just as much. It's not the government's role to prevent me from sharing in a life with Troy,” says Terry. “As I pay more attention to issues around me, I'm realizing there is an endless list of ways we are formally discriminated against – the ability to roll over your partner's IRA upon death, Social Security survivor benefits, gift-tax exemptions, employer-provided heath care, and so on.”
Terry and Troy hope that by sharing their story, others might recognize the fundamental discrimination against those who want to provide health care benefits for their significant others.
“As we begin to recognize the number of ways we are treated differently, we're actively working to change those inequities,” concludes Terry. “Troy and I are more active in equal rights organizations, financially support and lobby for politicians who are in favor of ending discrimination, and make sure our friends and family are aware that there are real and concrete issues facing us.”
Jan. 21, 2003