US health
and human services department clarifies that insurers offering spousal coverage
must extend it to same-sex couples
theguardian.com,
Amanda Holpuch in New York, Friday 14 March 2014
A woman looks at the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange. Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images |
Insurance
providers that offer spousal coverage must extend that option to same-sex
spouses starting in 2015, the US department of health and human services said on Friday.
“In other
words, insurance companies will not be permitted to discriminate against
married same-sex couples when offering coverage,” said Matthew Heinz, director
of LGBT outreach office at the US department of health and human services, in a
blog post. “This will further enhance access to health care for all Americans,
including those with same-sex spouses.”
The
announcement clarifies that insurance companies that provide coverage to
opposite-sex spouses cannot deny same-sex spouses coverage. This announcement
comes nearly a year after the supreme court struck down the Defense of Marriage
Act (Doma), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
This
standard applies to all “qualified health plans”, which is coverage certified
by local exchanges in the Health Insurance Marketplace by meeting standards for
coverage defined under the Affordable Care Act.
Insurance
providers are already required to treat married same-sex couples the same way
they treat married opposite-sex couples that are seeking financial assistance
for purchasing insurance through the marketplaces. This means that even if the
couple is seeking insurance in a state that does not permit same-sex marriage,
officials must still assist them in obtaining financial insurance to get
coverage.
“Today’s
guidance clarifies that issuers may not choose to treat same-sex spouses
differently from opposite-sex spouses. If an issuer offers opposite-sex spouse
coverage, it may not choose to deny the same coverage to a same-sex spouse. We
will continue to work with states and issuers to help ensure all Americans have
an equal opportunity to purchase the new coverage options available to them,”
the agency said in an emailed statement.
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