Gov. proposal offers state's coverage to more adults

RICHMOND

In his final weeks in office, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is working to extend health care access to more Virginians by permitting "other qualified adults" to participate in the state employee health plan.

Under the proposal, adults without health benefits who share a home with an insured state worker would be eligible for coverage. This would include domestic partners - heterosexual or homosexual - who live with a state employee. Sixteen other states provide benefits to domestic partners, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Kaine's administration is drafting regulations to allow the change, but the final decision will rest with Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell.

The policy also would apply to in-laws and to adult children who live with a parent who works for the state. That provision has a parallel to a version of the federal health care

legislation being debated by Congress that would allow unmarried young adults to remain on their parents' insurance through age 26.

Currently, the only adults eligible for health care benefits through Virginia are full-time state government employees and their spouses. About 102,000 employees are on the state payroll, though not all draw benefits through Virginia.

Officials aren't sure how many more people will sign up for benefits, but they claim it won't cost the state anything. Any expense associated with adding a person to the insurance rolls would be borne by the covered employee, said Kaine spokeswoman Lynda Tran.

McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said the governor-elect's staff just became aware of the proposed change and is reviewing it.

To prevent abuse, stakeholders involved in the process have suggested that the regulations include residency provisions to ensure those receiving coverage live in Virginia.

The proposal has support from several state college and university presidents who say it will help them recruit and keep top faculty members on their campuses.

"Many, perhaps most, of Virginia's major corporations have offered similar coverage for several years. Their motive has been to bring top employees to Virginia, and then to retain them," the top officials at the College of William and Mary, George Mason University and the University of Virginia wrote in an Oct. 6 letter to Kaine.

According to Tran, the motives behind the plan are consistent with efforts by Kaine to improve the well-being of all Virginians, such as the restaurant smoking ban and the governor's push to reduce infant mortality rates.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com