Supreme Court Decision to Affect Coverage

As you have probably heard, The Supreme Court has recently ruled that all couples, regardless of gender, have a fundamental right to marriage.  This means that marriage is the law of the land, and each state must allow couples of the same gender to marry.  Same-sex spouses are now entitled to the same legal obligation, responsibilities, protections and benefits provided under state laws to opposite-sex spouses.

Additionally, this means that employers who offer health coverage for spouses will now be required to provide coverage to same-sex spouses if they aren’t already.  Here’s how this may affect your employer sponsored benefits…

• If you already offered coverage for same-sex couples during the past open enrollment, then the spouse will need to wait until the next open enrollment to obtain coverage.
• If coverage was not previously offered, the spouse will be able to go on the employer’s plan at the next open enrollment.
• Newly married couples may add their spouse following the marriage as permitted under special enrollment guidelines.

To learn more about what type of coverage an employer needs to provide its employees, please visit: www.sba.gov.