N.Y. Health Insurer Sued Over Coverage for Same-Sex Spouse

July 17, 2008

The New York Civil Liberties Union is suing a western New York health insurer accused of refusing to cover the same-sex spouse of a policy holder.

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A suit filed in state Supreme Court in Buffalo says Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Western New York is breaching its contract with the Cheektowaga Central School District, and violating an executive law against sexual orientation-based discrimination.

A Blue Cross spokeswoman did not immediately respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comment.

The lawsuit involves a Cheektowaga district school psychologist and the woman she married in Canada in 2006.

The NYCLU points to an appeals court's February decision that same-sex marriages legal in other states and countries are entitled to recognition in New York.