Starting next month, UW- Madison will be the only Big Ten university that does not offer health insurance for the partners of its gay and lesbian staff. It’s a distinction school officials say will hurt the university’s ability to recruit and retain employees.
Penn State University, the only other holdout, will add it as an official benefit, likely in January. Penn State now offers such coverage using private donations.
Health insurance for domestic partners is not allowed for state employees, including at the university, under Wisconsin law. Coupled with the state’s long-standing, lower- than-average salaries, it hurts the university’s competitive edge, school officials said.