SECTION2. HEALTHBENEFITSOFFERRATES SPOUSES,DEPENDENTSANDDOMESTICPARTNERBENEFITS • Themajorityoffirmsofferinghealthbenefitsoffertospousesanddependents,suchaschildren. In2017,94%ofsmall firmsand100%oflargefirmsofferinghealthbenefitsoffercoveragetospouses,similartolastyear. Ninety-twopercent of small firmsand100%oflargefirmsofferinghealthbenefitscoverotherdependents,suchaschildren,similartolast year. Five percent of small firms offering health benefits offer only single coverage to employees[Figure2.11]. • Employerswerealsoaskedwhethersame-sexoropposite-sexdomesticpartnerswereallowedtoenrollinthefirm’s coverage. Whiledefinitionsmayvary,employersoftendefinedomesticpartnersasanunmarriedcouplewhohaslived togetherforaspecifiedperiodoftime. Firmsmaydefinedomesticpartnersseparatelyfromanylegalrequirementsa state mayhave,andalso,employersmayhaveadifferentpolicyindifferentpartsofthecountryorfordifferentworkers. – In2017,36%offirmsofferinghealthbenefitsoffercoveragetoopposite-sexdomesticpartners,similartothe27% whodidsoin2016. Fortypercentoffirmsofferinghealthbenefitsoffercoveragetosame-sexdomesticpartners, similar to the 32% whodidsolastyear[Figure2.13]. – Whenfirmsareaskediftheyofferhealthbenefitstooppositeorsame-sexdomesticpartners,manyreport thattheyhavenotencounteredthisissue. Atsomesmallfirms,thefirmmaynothaveformalhumanresource policies on domesticpartnerssimplybecausenoneofthefirm’sworkershaveaskedtocoveradomesticpartner. Regardinghealthbenefitsforopposite-sexdomesticpartners,30%offirmsreportin2017thattheyhavenot encounteredthisrequestorthatthequestionwasnotapplicable[Figure2.12]. Thevastmajorityoffirmsinthe UnitedStatesaresmallbusinesses[FigureM.1]. Therefore,statisticsaboutthepercentageoffirmsthatoffer domesticpartnerbenefitsarelargelydeterminedbysmallbusinesses. Moresmallfirms(31%)thanlargefirms (2%)indicatethattheyhavenotencounteredthisrequestorthatthequestionwasnotapplicable[Figure2.12]. Regardinghealthbenefitsforsame-sexdomesticpartners,34%offirmsreportthattheyhavenotencounteredthe requestorthatthequestionwasnotapplicable. Moresmallfirms(35%)thanlargefirms(4%)reportthattheyhave notencounteredtheissueofofferingbenefitstosame-sexdomesticpartners[Figure2.12]. – Amonglargefirmsnotofferinghealthbenefitstosame-sexdomesticpartners,3%stoppedofferingthemwithin thelast12months. • Overhalf(57%)offirmsthatofferhealthbenefitstospousesalsooffercoveragetosame-sexspouses,withlargefirms morelikelythansmallfirmstooffercoveragetosame-sexspouses(88%vs.56%). Smallfirmsaremorelikelythanlarge firmstoreportthatthisrequesthasnotbeenencountered(32%vs.4%)[Figure2.15]. • Amongallfirmsthatofferhealthbenefits,15%reportprovidingadditionalcompensationorbenefitstoemployees if they enroll in a spouse’s plan, and 18% provide additional compensation or benefits to employees if they do not participate in the firm’s health benefits [Figure 2.16]. The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust / Page 45