Effective June 1, 2011, unmarried adult partners can enter into a civil union in the State of Illinois by virtue of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. Illinois employers may wonder what rights parties to a civil union have under employer sponsored health plans.
Recent guidance issued by the Illinois Department of Insurance provides that for purposes of health insurance coverage, a spouse in a civil union and a spouse in a marriage are to be treated identically. Accordingly, effective June 1, 2011, health insurance policies and HMO contracts issued in Illinois must offer coverage to civil union couples and their families that is identical to coverage offered to married couples and their families. If an employer's insured health plan makes coverage available for the spouses of covered employees and the underlying insurance policy is issued in Illinois, a covered employee must be allowed to add coverage for the civil union spouse during the plan's annual open enrollment period or during a 30-day "special enrollment period" after the civil union becomes effective, or after the civil union spouse loses other coverage. If the parties entered into a civil union in another state before June 1, 2011, the employer plan must offer the 30-day special enrollment period beginning June 1, 2011.
The requirement to make coverage available to the civil union spouse of a covered employee only applies to insured employer plans. Employer sponsored self-insured health plans are exempt from this requirement under the preemption provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA").
Civil union spouses are also entitled to elect continuation of employer provided coverage under Illinois' Health Insurance Continuation Rights law (mini-COBRA). However, federal law does not recognize the Illinois civil union law, and therefore civil union spouses may not qualify for the same federal continuation rights available to spouses under COBRA.
Illinois employers should promptly contact their health insurance carriers to assure compliance with the civil union law.
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