by Joe LaMuraglia

This post from Automotive.com was forwarded to me a few days ago. It discusses a disturbing item in their insurance coverage where Honda Manufacturing of Alabama specifically asks Blue Cross/Blue Shield to deny fertility treatments to same-sex domestic partners.
According to their article, the BC/BS Honda Manufacturing of Alabama policy specifically states:
“Benefits for fertility treatment and ART are limited to a lifetime maximum payment of $30,000.00.”
The above verbiage applies to heterosexual couples. The disturbing part of the policy reads:
“Effective January 1, 2008, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama requests that Blue Cross and Blue Shield exclude domestic partners (same sex partners) from ART benefits including diagnostic services related to fertility/infertility that have a fertility or infertility diagnosis”.
Honda’s sales and marketing arm, American Honda Motor, began offering same-sex domestic partner benefits on January 1, 2008 but those same benefits were not extended to all divisions of Honda in the U.S.*
We have not been able to ascertain whether or not Honda Manufacturing of Alabama began offering those benefits and has deliberately excluded same-sex partners from fertility treatments or if the policy was simply reiterating that the coverage doesn’t apply to same-sex couples along with fundamental health insurance.
We have emails in to the appropriate parties at American Honda and will share the details upon their receipt.
Based on these policies, the Honda brand is not listed as gay-friendly.