Tuesday, July 9, 2002
D.C. initiates domestic partner benefits plan
A story published today by the Washington Times reports that D.C. officials yesterday began issuing to unmarried couples certificates of registration allowing them to apply for health insurance benefits.
Mayor Anthony A. Williams, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and several D.C. Council members yesterday hailed the law during an outdoor ceremony next to the District's Department of Health at 825 North Capitol St., where domestic partners can now register.
Under the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act, two adults can certify they are living together by mutual consent after paying a $45 fee at a registration center. The notarized form will be kept on file at the Health Department's Vital Records Division.
The agreements are terminated by the marriage of either partner or death. A partner can also seek termination by paying a $10 fee and waiting six months.
The registration enables domestic partners to receive D.C. health care insurance coverage, for which they must pay. It also allows partners to exercise visitation rights at hospitals or nursing homes, even if blood relatives object, and to make funeral arrangements for their partners.
The newly implemented law also allows domestic partners from other states to register in the District. It could allow them to acquire some privileges, like health insurance, in their home states.
"It's a human rights victory," said Mrs. Norton, a Democrat and the District's nonvoting congressional representative. "This bill took 10 long years, years when there was virtually no hope."
