The City of Fort Lauderdale unanimously passed health insurance for domestic partners of its employees Sept. 7. Miriam Richter, a local trademark attorney, spearheaded the campaign to get the benefits extended.
â┚¬Å”I needed a group [insurance] plan. I just decided it was about time that the City of Fort Lauderdale got into the 21st century. I can't buy a group plan because there's no such thing as a group of one,â┚¬Â she said.
Richter is a self-employed attorney whose medical insurance coverage ended in November. Her partner of 17 years is a city employee. Richter met with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, who asked her to put together a report detailing the costs associated with adding domestic partners to the current health plan. Once the data was collected, the item was put on the city's agenda for its July meeting.
At that meeting, City Manager Lee Feldman advised the commission that giving employees the option of adding domestic partners to the City's self-insured employee health insurance plan could be done with minimal impact on the plan. And while there were some commissioners who spoke out against the idea, in the end, the commission agreed to draft a resolution, whichthen passed. Benefits will go in to effect January 1.
â┚¬Å”I'm very happy. I'm in a state of disbelief,â┚¬Â Richter said. â┚¬Å”I grew up in New York City, where you can't just call the mayor's office. I'm very reassured that we have a system of government that lets us have an impact.â┚¬ÂÂ
Now Richter is ready to take advantage of the new benefits.
â┚¬Å”As soon as open enrollment comes around my partner said â┚¬Ëœwhatever they offer you're on it,'â┚¬Â Richter said.
Editor's note: Denise Royal is a reporter with South Florida Gay News and this article is used with permission.
