The Benefits of Same Sex Marriage

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As one of four plaintiffs in a Federal Same Sex Marriage Lawsuit here in Louisiana, Robicheaux et al. v. Caldwell, and simply as a gay man, I am often asked why I want my marriage recognized by law. The benefits of marriage are plentiful, as any happily married person (or legal scholar) can tell you, but the literal benefits – shared insurance, healthcare access, tax credits – are also important.

I am a paramedic with a private ambulance service in New Orleans and have seven years experience behind me. Having great insurance is one of the many reasons that I work for my particular employer. In Louisiana, out-of-state same-sex marriages are not recognized, leaving companies to decide whether to offer insurance coverage to same-sex married employees. I see this as not only a burden on the employee, but also a burden on employers.

Those companies that decide to cover have to place strict guidelines, such as signing affidavits, pre- vs. post-tax coverage, etc., in order to cover their same-sex couples (married or non-married). Most companies, since they are not bound by state law to recognize these marriages and provide coverage, do not want to undertake this effort, perhaps understandably; it’s laborious, it’s time-consuming, and it adds an additional layer of costs to employers. Unfortunately for me and my husband, Jon, this is where my company currently falls.

Jon is, by many standards, underemployed, and his company does not offer healthcare benefits. So when my husband was hospitalized for five days in September 2013, we racked up a huge hospital bill that (a) could not be covered by my insurance because he’s not an eligible spouse and (b) was not covered under his public healthcare plan. Because he is a part-time employee at a local company and has no insurance, when we went into the emergency room the night he was ill, the registration clerk signed him up for the public healthcare system. What we didn’t realize at the time is that if you are not over the age of 65, are not disabled, and are not a single parent; your healthcare is limited to just the public LSU hospital system. Being unaware of this, Jon was seen in the emergency room and admitted to a private hospital. Jon made a full recovery from his illness. We went home and back to our normal lives, and about a month later we start getting the bills we thought were covered. The first bill, which was for an ER visit only, was around $6500. Yes, you read that right. The second bill, for the five-day stay, was for $38,000.

It is upsetting that my perfectly good insurance could not be utilized by my legal husband, all because the state does not recognize my marriage, therefore not requiring my company, which does not have a plan in place for same-sex marriage or benefits, to cover him. How many couples should have to suffer inequalities such as this before something is going to be done?

Situations like this could be avoided in two ways: (1) If more companies would do the right thing and treat their employees’ same-sex spouses as they would treat any other legally marriage from another state; (2) If the state itself would honor same-sex marriages from out-of-state, requiring the coverage option.

Here in Louisiana, we are fighting in our lawsuit the latter of those, so that all legally married same-sex couples will have the same rights as any heterosexual marriage from another state. The next time you hear the age-old argument that, “Gay people have the same rights as straight people,” you can remind them of our struggle in Louisiana and ask them, “Would that scenario play out the same way if all our rights were equal?”

We hope you will join us in support of our cause. It is important to Jon and myself, it is important to our co-plaintiffs, Courtney and Nadine and their son, and it is important to countless other same-sex couples who are not recognized here. In my heart, the benefits of my marriage to Jon are immeasurable. In our bank account and in our healthcare, having the same legal options as our married straight friends would be a different kind of benefit – and a huge one.

You can follow the progress of our fight on our facebook page and on our website here.

LET’S MAKE 2014 ANOTHER BIG YEAR FOR EQUALITY!

 

Catch up on Derek’s previous posts on his lawsuit against the State of Louisiana:

Robicheaux vs. Caldwell – Why We Are Suing To Be Married In Louisiana
A Blanchard Family Christmas

 

Derek Penton, 35, is a native of Mississippi and a longtime resident of New Orleans.  He holds degrees in computer information systems and paramedicine.  After more than five years together, Penton and his husband, Jonathan Robicheaux, were legally married in Iowa on Sept. 23, 2012.

 

 

 

Nadine and Courtney Blanchard’s photo via Facebook