A recent example of Hawaii's bad business climate is the Reciprocal Beneficiaries law -- an unnecessary piece of legislation to circumvent same-sex marriage. It justifies making same-sex unions illegal by extending marital rights to any two single people who want them. When aloha means
come and get itOne such right is medical insurance. Reciprocal beneficiaries are now to get the same coverage as families of married people. This generous expression of legislative aloha (albeit at the expense of both government and private sector medical plans) invites anyone in America who can't get medical coverage to become a reciprocal beneficiary in Hawaii.
It doesn't take many cases to drive health insurance premiums out of sight. Employees at one large local company filed thousands of medical claims last year. The five most expensive claims resulted in 40 percent of the total payout. At a local bank, a single cancer pa-tient's claim resulted in a 35 percent premium increase the following year.
Employers can't just absorb such costs. Instead, they'll raise prices and cut staffs, salaries and benefits. Some may follow Woolworth and Crazy Shirts out of business or out of state.
The bill was a last-minute deal cut in conference committee and allowed to become law by Governor Cayetano despite warnings from employee benefits experts. Its imprecise language and muddled thinking may be its best features, since they may let the courts protect us, again.