| 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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Other people have expressed the business case for extending medical benefits to OQA living with state employees. Bob Witek's December 3 post is particularly compelling.
I echo that sentiment and add that many kinds of families will benefit from this change. These include same sex couples but also scores of elderly relatives, adult children, grandchildren, and heterosexual couples who have chosen not to marry.
Those of us from Roanoke -- a city called out by The New York Times for its divorce rate -- know that family and economic responsibility is not (and never really has been) limited to one's legally wed spouse and children. It's time that state HR policies catch up to these domestic realities and offer benefits that compete with those from leading Virginia employers, including Altria Group, Capital One, CarMax, Dominion Resources, Genworth, MeadWestvaco, Northrop Grumman/Newport News Shipbuilding, and Owens & Minor.