Same-sex partners eligible for health plan

The University made the decision to extend the Student Health Plan to include same-sex partners on Jan. 9. The change is a major step towards achieving a consistent policy among student and employee couples, but there is still room for further change, LGBT student services coordinator Debra Bazarsky said.

The new measure stipulates that same-sex partners of students are now eligible for the University's health coverage — a benefit that same-sex partners of faculty have enjoyed since the early nineties. Previously, same-sex partners of students had to seek independent coverage or rely on coverage offered by their occupations.

According to Bazarsky, measures had been in place for many years that aided same-sex partners of students in gaining access to housing, library and McCosh health services. Extending the Student Health Plan was the final issue that needed to be addressed.

Bazarsky said it was "pure coincidence" that Princeton's policy change coincided with the New Jersey Senate's decision last month to legally recognize gay and lesbian domestic partners.

Bazarsky had been coordinating the planned policy change with University Health Services since last summer.

The University's decision also received support from the Fund for Reunion, the Bisexual, Transgendered, Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association.

Until last summer, the association was unaware that same-sex partners of students were not already receiving these benefits in accordance with the University's nondiscrimination policy, said Shawn Cowls '87, the Fund's president.

Bazarsky noted the criteria Health Services employs to determine qualification might still need to be reassessed.

The University is currently operating under criteria established a decade ago by New Jersey before the state changed its laws regarding domestic partners.