Latah County Seeks Other Bids For Coverage Of Same-Sex Partners Costs Of Insurance Alternatives Weighed

(From For the Record, May 25, 1999): Names switched: The last names of Latah County employee Tracey Chapman and her partner, Amy Wilson, were inadvertently switched in an article last Wednesday on Latah County’s consideration of changes in health benefits.

Latah County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to take bids from other health-care providers willing to extend medical benefits to domestic partners.

The commissioners are deliberating possible changes in the county’s medical benefit packages in light of a request by courthouse employee Stacey Wilson. She wanted her partner of seven years, Amy Chapman, to be eligible for coverage.

Commissioners are considering a range of health options for employees, from no change in benefits to a plan that would put cash in employees’ pockets to use as they please, to an alternative that would cost the county $246,000 to put in place.

If benefits are extended to domestic partners, Latah County would be the first government entity in Idaho to offer health benefits to gay couples.

In recent meetings, commissioners have tried to avoid the political rhetoric that can accompany debates over extending health benefits beyond traditional married couples. But an exchange between Commissioner Sam Duncan, a Moscow Democrat, and Latah County resident Sherwood Hall, grew heated Tuesday.

Hall cautioned commissioners about the moral message such a change might send. “… Shack-ups? Sodomy? Is that what we are encouraging in Latah County?” Hall asked.

The issue is health care, not what people do or believe, Duncan fired back.

“What other groups would you have us exclude? Blacks? Jews?”

After the two traded a few more short words, an exasperated Hall left the meeting, which was stopped for a brief intermission.

QualMed, the county’s current medical insurance provider, has said it would extend health benefits to cover domestic partners for an additional 1 percent increase in premiums, which adds up to an additional $4,200 annually for the county.

Group Health is the only other health maintenance organization operating in Idaho that offers coverage for domestic partners, according to the county’s insurance broker, Lynn Cameron.

The commissioners are expected to make a decision in the next four to six weeks, once estimates from QualMed and Group Health are in.