Ways to be Unmarried
| Living Single |
| Living Together |
| GLBT |
| Polyamory |
| MarriageFree & Boycott |
| Parents & Children |
| Commitment Ceremonies |
| Domestic Partner Benefits |
RSS
| National Health Reform |
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We know that our marital status affects our access to health care. The country's focus on health reform offers an important opportunity to end discrimination and increase unmarried people's access to, and ability to afford, health care. Here's what you can do now:
Read AtMP's detailed response to the Senate Finance Committee's Description of Policy Options for Expanding Health Care Coverage.
Print and distribute our fact sheets:
Write a letter to your favorite health care reformer: There are so many health care reform organizations, all trying different ways to bring down barriers to health care in the U.S. But hardly any of them are looking at bringing down the barriers of marital status. If you know about an organization that could be doing a better job of addressing the issues that matter to you, send a letter like this to the director.
Dear_________:
The work your organization does is incredibly important now, at a time when health care reform is being seriously considered by lawmakers and the presidential candidates. While reform seems to be on the horizon, I want to encourage you to more directly address the issue of marital status discrimination in the current health care system. The way health care is structured in this country leaves unmarried people disproportionately disadvantaged and uninsured. As you may know, in our current system employers can choose whether to cover an employee's family members, and exactly what relationships constitute "family". In this way, marital-status discrimination can be an easy cost-containment strategy. As a result, access to health care is often determined by a couple's marital status. Marital status is an arbitrary and unfair signal of family and, even more, of whether someone should have health insurance. As a member of the Alternatives to Marriage Project (AtMP), where 20% of the membership has experienced marital status discrimination with regard to health insurance, this issue is particularly salient for me. Most AtMP members are upset that their employers will not extend insurance to unmarried partners. Many different-sex couples are upset that their employers extend insurance only to unmarried same-sex partners. Some are seeking alternatives to marriage because marrying would cause them to lose their disability insurance or military survivors' insurance. A small but significant number have married in order to get health insurance, and are upset that they were forced to compromise their values. I hope your organization will incorporate the impact of marital status discrimination into your work on health care reform. If you'd like more detail on this topic, please visit www.unmarried.org/universal-health-care.html. Your work is greatly appreciated, Thank you, Name Address City State Zip Phone number or email address
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