Same-Sex Spouses in New York Will Get Health Insurance

Couples that marry will gain a variety of other legal and financial benefits as well, but the ability to add a spouse to an employer’s plan may be one of the more significant. When we calculated the extra costs that gay couples incur because of their inability to marry, health care expenses were certainly among the most onerous — not all employers offer domestic partner insurance, for instance. And even when they do, workers are often taxed on the value of those benefits.

Though the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York won’t entirely level the playing field with opposite-sex married couples, it will certainly help matters. Not only will the same-sex spouses of state workers be eligible for spousal coverage, but the same goes for many employees who work for private employers. According to the state insurance department, an employer that provides coverage to spouses must now also extend that coverage to same-sex spouses who were legally married in New York.