Is it Illegal to Claim a Domestic Partner on a Health Insurance Application?

Many insurance companies offer policies for domestic partners. However, in many states, the insurance provider can charge you with perjury or falsehood if you claim on an application that your domestic partner is your spouse. In other states, claiming your domestic partner is entirely legal, and you can sue the insurance company if it discriminates against you.

Insurance Providers

• Health insurance companies increasingly offer joint plans for domestic partners, regardless of where you live or if you have a certificate of domestic partnership. Some restrict plans to same-sex couples while others define domestic partners as any two people living together in an exclusive relationship. All will have you sign an affidavit stating that you fit the insurance company's definition of domestic partners.

Employers

• Many employers, including most Fortune 500 companies and universities, offer health insurance to the domestic partners of their employees. If you work for an employer offering equal benefits, you can claim your partner. If you do not and claim your partner as your spouse, your employer can report that you are committing fraud.

Most States

• Most states do not recognize domestic partnerships of any kind. In these states, insurance companies and employers have the power to decide whether or not to offer health insurance plans to domestic partners. If your provider does not offer plans to domestic partners and you put your partner on an application as your spouse, your provider can deny or halt coverage if it finds out -- and depending on state laws -- sue you for damages.

California, Oregon and Washington

• California, Oregon and Washington have "everything but marriage" domestic partnership laws. These laws proclaim that registered domestic partners must receive the same treatment that spouses are entitled to under state law. In California, a separate law exists guaranteeing that insurance providers and employers offer and provide registered domestic partners with the same policies available to married couples. Oregon and Washington have blanket laws simply stating that domestic partners receive equal treatment, and many have interpreted the laws to mean equal insurance policies.