Gay Partners Now Insured

Harvard will begin to offer family health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners of University faculty and staff next fall, administrators announced yesterday.

The new policy was formulated by a committee of faculty, administrators and staff members which has been working on the issue since last fall. It was officially endorsed by President Neil L. Rudenstine in a statement issued yesterday.

Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers Donene M. Williams, who served on the committee, said she thought the recent controversy surrounding the selection of Gen. Colin L. Powell as commencement speaker provided an added impetus for the committee to work out a policy covering domestic partners.

Powell, a vocal defender of the ban on gay soldiers in the military, will be protested as Commencement speaker by a coalition of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and others.

"I think the University is probably taking a lot of heat, and I think right-fully so, about inviting Colin Powell to speak," Williams said. "I would say they're probably using this announcement to try to heal some of those wounds."

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday to distance itself from the ROTC program, in another move that some said was aimed at sending a signal to Powell about gay rights.

Provost Jerry R. Green, who chaired the committee, said in a press release that the new benefit program "is consistent with our commitment to the equitable treatment of the gay and lesbian members of our faculty and staff."

Lyn Chamberlin, director of communications for the Office of Human Resources, said the Powell issue had no effect on the domestic partners decision.

"This committee's been working for six to eight months now and it's only coincidental that it coincides. It was a rapid turnaround, but I can't give you the exact timing sequence," she said.

The issue originally arose during contract negotiations between University management and the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers in 1989, according to Williams. It was first studied by a joint committee of employees and managers for health care.

Under the new policy, same-sex domestic partners who have registered their affiliation with Cambridge or another city would be eligible for the coverage, although the committee did recommend that the University require an additional affirmation of mutual financial responsibility equivalent to what a marriage would entail.

The estimated additional annual cost to Harvard, assuming that insurance premiums do not increase immediately, would be between $78,000 and $378,000, according to the report.

Chamberlin said about 25 to 100 employees will apply for the benefits.

Rudenstine praised the efforts of the committee in his statement. "I believe the committee has prepared a commendably thorough and persuasive report," he said. "I am pleased to endorse its recommendation, and I am hopeful that we can work toward prompt implementation."

Williams said she was pleased with the agreement. "If we say that we want to make Harvard a place that's inclusive for all kinds of families...then it would make sense that we also offer the same benefits package to that part of our community," she said. "We expect based on the experience of other employers that about one percent of the University work force will sign up."

Although she said she thinks the University should consider extending the benefits to unmarried heterosexual couples, Williams said she believes the move puts Harvard in the forefront of American employers dealing with the issue

The estimated additional annual cost to Harvard, assuming that insurance premiums do not increase immediately, would be between $78,000 and $378,000, according to the report.

Chamberlin said about 25 to 100 employees will apply for the benefits.

Rudenstine praised the efforts of the committee in his statement. "I believe the committee has prepared a commendably thorough and persuasive report," he said. "I am pleased to endorse its recommendation, and I am hopeful that we can work toward prompt implementation."

Williams said she was pleased with the agreement. "If we say that we want to make Harvard a place that's inclusive for all kinds of families...then it would make sense that we also offer the same benefits package to that part of our community," she said. "We expect based on the experience of other employers that about one percent of the University work force will sign up."

Although she said she thinks the University should consider extending the benefits to unmarried heterosexual couples, Williams said she believes the move puts Harvard in the forefront of American employers dealing with the issue