Lesbian Couple Wins Benefits Battle
BUFFALO, NY – Nineteen days after the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit seeking spousal heath care benefits for a legally married Buffalo, NY lesbian couple, the NYCLU announced that BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York had agreed to provide them with coverage.
“It turns out it was a slam-dunk, although the lawsuit isn’t settled,” said NYCLU’s executive director Donna Lieberman in an interview with the Buffalo News. “We’re delighted that BlueCross BlueShield has decided to do the right thing.”
Jeanne Kornowicz, a school psychologist and her partner, Joy Higgins, have been together for a decade and were legally married in Canada 2 years ago.
The NYCLU filed the lawsuit against BlueCross BlueShield on July 9, after the couples complained they were denied spousal benefits.
“We are so happy that Joy can now be covered under my health insurance plan, even though we were denied such coverage months ago,” Kornowicz said in a statement issued on July 28. “This is a huge relief for our family and provides a sense of security for all of us. … We are also happy that other families will be able to obtain health insurance and the security that goes along with it.”
BlueCross BlueShield went public with its new policy on same-sex spousal coverage in a statement citing the desire to be more responsive to customer needs in a quickly evolving society.
“While this situation brought to light an outdated policy that no longer met the needs of our customers, it also presented an opportunity to be more responsive and showed the company ways that, despite being in a highly regulated industry, we can be more progressive in taking action to please our customers,” read the statement.
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