Virginia Regulatory Town Hall View Comments

Department of Human Resource Management

Department of Human Resource Management

Commonwealth of Virginia Health Benefits Program [1 VAC 55 ‑ 20]

Action	This action will amend section 1VAC 55 320(E) to include adults, other than spouses and incapacitated adult children, as participants in the Health Benefits Plan for State Employees
Stage	NOIRA
Comment Period	Ended on 12/23/2009

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12/8/09 11:24 am

Commenter: Miek Wolfe

Is he serious??

Governor Tim Kaine announced his intention to begin the process of expanding health care benefits for state employees to include not only same-sex partners but anyone living in a house with a state worker. Is this a joke??

Expanding benefits to same sex relationships is a clear violation of the marriage amendment passed by the voters three years ago. It is a clear violation ov the Constitution of the State of Virginia!

Kaine’s plan as proposed borders on the ludicrous. Proponents of the policy claim that there will be no cost to the state. How can this be?? EVERY person added to an insurance policy increases the cost of that policy!! State workers and their "dependents" are no different!! Virginia taxpayers should NOT be forced to pay more taxes for benefits for people not related to a state employee!! Does this mean that the state would allow a recent college graduate that gets a job with the state and who happens to room with a half dozen of his buddies to put all of his roommates on his health insurance?? And there will be NO additional cost for this??

Attempts at expanding this beyond marriage makes any and all relationships, hetero or homosexual, equal to marriage, thereby undermining that foundational institution.

Interestingly, the “Notice of Intended Regulatory Action Agency Background Document” that announces the regulation change makes several astonishing claims, such as saying the proposal “should have little impact on the family or family stability.” Really? By allowing non-married hetero or homosexual couples the identical benefits as those who are married, does that not make marriage less necessary?

This idea MUST be stopped!

CommentID: 10345