CMS issued an FAQ on coverage of same-sex spouses under PHSA section 2702, which requires health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered health insurance coverage in the group or individual markets to guarantee the availability of coverage with certain exceptions. The FAQ clarifies that a health insurance issuer in the group or individual market that offers coverage to an opposite-sex spouse may not refuse to offer coverage to a same-sex spouse. The FAQ also notes that an issuer is prohibited from choosing to decline to offer to a plan sponsor (or to an individual in the individual market) the option to cover same-sex spouses under the coverage on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex spouses. Although issuers are encouraged to implement this clarification for the 2014 coverage year, full compliance is required for plan or policy years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.
