St. Luke's denies employee's request for same-sex spousal health benefits
Watching her father care for her dying mother was a sobering experience for St. Luke’s nurse Carol Stevens.Stevens, 56, of North Whitehall Township , realized if her wife, Beth Goudy, became ill she would be ineligible for family, medical or bereavement leave because her employer of 14 years does not recognize Goudy as her spouse.
The couple wed in a religious ceremony May 6, 2007, in Pennsylvania and then legally married in Iowa in Goudy’s hometown Sept. 28, 2009. But their marriage is not recognized by Pennsylvania.
Request denied
Stevens was heartened when she learned the St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network nondiscrimination policy had been updated to say it does not exclude, deny benefits to or otherwise discriminate against protected classes, including those grouped by “sexual preference, gender identity and expression.”
She thought it meant the network had changed its stance and was going to begin extending benefits like nearby Lehigh Valley Health Network does. Stevens added Goudy to her plan during open enrollment.
“This illustrates the difficult patchwork of LGTB rights in the country,” said Adrian Shanker, president of the nonprofit group Equality Pennsylvania. “You can go five minutes across the border (into New Jersey) and your relationship is now recognized by the state. You step back into Easton, you have no relationship rights.”
The policy’s language change almost mirrors a switch LVHN made just before it extended same-sex benefits in 2009, Bradbury said
St. Luke's defends policy
St. Luke’s defended its policy and said it has no plans to extend coverage to domestic partners, although all benefit offerings are reviewed each year.
St. Luke’s offers health insurance coverage to full-time and eligible part-time employees and eligible dependents, said Gloria Cuadrado, St.
St Lukes Health Insurance - News
St. Luke's defended its policy and said it has no plans to extend coverage to domestic partners, although all benefit offerings are reviewed each year. St. Luke's offers health insurance coverage to full-time and eligible part-time employees and
David Pate, president and CEO of St. Luke's Health System, will have his chance to make his case Thursday for a state-run health insurance exchange. He's a scheduled speaker at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce's annual luncheon for legislators
Revenue cycle management has become a high priority at St. Luke's Hospital, an Iowa Health System hospital in Cedar Rapids, involving more than 50 employees in areas such as medical enrollment and registration. St. Luke's Director of Revenue Cycle Jeni
Representatives for nurses at St. Luke's said that the hospital wanted union members to pay up to $100 more per month in health insurance premiums and did not make a sufficient pay offer. Continuum Health Partners, which owns the consortium of St.
In the Initial Decision announced today, the ALJ found that ProMedica's acquisition of St. Luke's eliminated competition between the two firms in the market for general acute care inpatient hospital services and reduced the number of competing
St. Luke's CEO argues for health exchange: 'Let's not cut off our ...
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David Pate, president and CEO of St. Luke’s Health System, will have his chance to make his case Thursday for a state-run health insurance exchange. He’s a scheduled speaker at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon for legislators — and the exchange is this year’s topic.
In a blog post today, Pate argued for the exchange, which is designed to help small businesses and individuals shop for insurance.
“ I think Gov. (Butch) Otter has it right on this issue. If we are going to have an exchange, it should be run by the state. …
“If the (federal health care) law is struck down in its entirety, we can always decide to abandon the exchange and return the funds to the federal government or move forward with an exchange unfettered by the health reform law.
“On the other hand, inaction on our part will result in loss of control of our destiny if the law is upheld. Let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face.”
Otter and business groups back the exchange. Some legislators object to establishing the exchange and accepting a $20.3 million grant from the federal health care law, preferring to wait on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal law,
Here’s a link to Pate’s full blog post.
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Pate is a major stakeholder in Idaho health care system. Otter Care claims it will be designed to help small businesses and individuals shop for insurance……how can it if Otter Care system cant negotiate with insurers........LMFAO….