I'm going to tell you about how equality matters for business in one way--I'm sure there are others. But in this case it is because of health insurance.
Sure, health insurance is a giant problem on a whole number of levels. But it is especially challenging for small businesses.
And not just if you are gay can you get hurt by this. All you need is a gay business partner or boss to get unequal treatment. That's what happened to us.
Our story is below.
We've got a small business that operates in 4 states. That's a complicating factor anyway, I know. And one that would be solved by some sort of national health insurance access. However--until that day--we small biz folks have to scramble around to find some kind of coverage that is reasonable without being extortionate.
So last year we decided that we needed to try to get something to cover ourselves and our staff. One of the partners had no insurance. One of our employees husband had been laid off and they suddenly needed insurance. I had a personal plan that I got though joining a business organization in my state, but it was only good in my state. My other business partner had his own family plan that he was paying a lot of money for.
So we make calls. We make calls in various states trying to find something suitable. This is an unbelievable hassle and took time away from what we actually do--the business that makes our money. But we spend a couple of weeks trying to get answers.
Some plans we were bumped out of because of state issues. Some because of the number of business partners who need insurance. Some because of our size. It was just a huge nightmare.
But we thought we were getting close on a few plans. And then we ask--just to be sure: "This will cover gay families, right? One of our partners is gay and we won't take a plan that doesn't include his family."
Generally we got silence from that request while on the phone. Later to be followed by a flat-out "no" response.
And the brokers seemed surprised that this was a deal breaker for us. Conversations go something like this:
"Can't they get something else?"
"No. The point of this exercise is to get us all insured."
"Well, we can cover him and his daughter, but they'd have to do something else for the partner."
"K. Thanks. Bye."
This was not negotiable for us. I will not throw my business partner under the bus for health insurance. Period. So, none of us ended up getting company insurance. We have kludged together a series of individual plans or having spouses get our insurance. We are probably paying more than we should have to. We probably have crappier coverage than we should have to. Doesn't matter if we are straight or gay. Damage is done.
It is hard to be an entrepreneur. It is apparently harder to be a gay entrepreneur. And it is even hard to be the business partner of a gay entrepreneur. And it can be hard if you are an employee of that business.
Is that what Americans really want? They want to make it even harder for small business? This is ridiculous.
Everyone should be treated equally under the law. Period. Not negotiable.
Please say no to hate. Please say no on 8.