Employee gay partner benefits begin Jan 1 at Alegent Creighton/CHI, Omaha VA and Methodist but not at Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Nebraska Medical Center or Bryan

Above: Nebraska Medical Center, which doesn't offer partner benefits to gay employees; three other Omaha/Lincoln hospitals will do so in 2014. to Photo: mpburrows/Flickr

Nebraska Medical Center spokesman Paul Baltes told World-Herald writer Bob Glissmann the facility is "working toward" adding health care as a benefit.
     The rationale of Alegent Creighton/Catholic Health Initiative in offering same sex couple benefits was fascinating, given the church's ongoing hostility to marriage equality and the regular reports of gay teachers being fired from Catholic schools:

“CHI reviewed the IRS definition of individuals eligible to be claimed as a dependent on a federal tax return,” the statement continued, “and used that definition as the basis for a new dependent classification, an adult dependent, to be eligible for CHI medical, dental and vision plans. An adult dependent will include any non-spouse adult, spouse as defined by CHI health plans as an individual of the opposite sex married to you, that is financially supported by you and lives with you.”

Read the entire article at the World-Herald here.