Editorial : Though socially responsible, SU health care expansion must remain economically fair

With the advantage of hindsight, extending Syracuse University health care to the staff’s opposite-sex domestic partners was both socially responsible and affordable.

One of the most contested changes to SU benefits last spring was a proposal to allow nonmarried, straight faculty and staff to cover their romantic partners with university health insurance, given they live together. Those opposed to the extension spoke out against it from a financial standpoint. They questioned whether it was appropriate for the university to raise costs and cut corners in other areas to save money while simultaneously extending benefits to straight couples who could legally marry.

Those in favor said it was socially responsible to accommodate modern couples who choose not to marry.

Of the more than 400 staff members who are eligible for the new benefit, SU estimated 110 would sign up, but only 50 employees are taking advantage of the new extension so far. The cost to the university, originally predicted at $600,000, will subsequently be less in this first year than expected.

For now, the financial burden of the health care extension pales in comparison to its social responsibility. But as the university makes allowances for more liberal, less defined interpretations of ‘family,’ it leaves more room for abuse and manipulation of the benefits system. In its fledgling years, SU officials must vet candidates for opposite-sex domestic partner benefits with due diligence.

The current requirements for proving ‘domestic partnership’ — such as being co-parents or having a joint mortgage, shared bank account or power of attorney — appear stringent and responsible. But with SU concerned about the economic sustainability of its benefits, any extension cannot spiral out of control into a new financial burden for the SU community.