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Blue Cross and Shield of North Carolina has announced that the insurer will offer family health insurance plans to same-sex couples and domestic partnerships beginning on March 1st.

Although North Carolina does not recognize same-sex marriages, Blue Cross recognizes marriages or partnerships as defined by the federal government.

This announcement was made because of the attention the insurer received after it was learned that the company cancelled family coverage to 20 gay and lesbian couples on a federal insurance marketplace. The cancellations were supposedly forced because of language in the contracts that defined “spouse” a “opposite sex.” The company then offered individual policies to the couples until the changes were made to the contracts.

On Wednesday, BCBSNC President and CEO Brad Wilson released a statement apologizing for the companies inconsideration. “In order to ensure that our technology was ready for the Affordable Care Act, our company chose to postpone a number of product updates until 2015,” he said. “One of these was to begin making family coverage available to same-sex married couples and domestic partners (same-sex or opposite-sex) in our ACA-approved plans. “We should have more thoughtfully considered this decision, with full appreciation of the impact it would have on same-sex married couples and domestic partners. We’re sorry we failed to do so.”

Domestic partners and same-sex married couples who were forced to enroll separately on ACA plans can convert them into family plans retroactive to their original effective date, according to BCBSNC.

This is clearly a victory for North Carolina LGBT residents.

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There is hope that someday soon the state of North Carolina will grant LGBT residents the dignity of having the right to marry the person they choose. Until then, LGBT couples living in North Carolina (and most other states) remain without any legal protections whatsoever – unless they go to the effort and expense of getting specific legal documents, i.e., living will and medical power of attorney (to empower a partner to make medical decisions and have hospital visitation rights), last will and testaments and/or living trust (to leave property to a partner) and other supporting documents that empower a partner to make decisions about finances, burial and cremation and many other rights denied to same-sex partners who live in non-marriage equality states.

For the most part, couples who can afford these documents will get them. Many LGBT couples are struggling financially because of the economic downturn. For them, Rainbow Law’s state-specific will and trust packages provide an affordable alternative – and their free advance directives are available to any LGBT person who asks.

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You can give Rainbow Law’s legal document preparation service a risk-free try by ordering state-specific advance directives (living wills, medical & financial powers of attorney with hospital visitation & more). Payment can be made via a small donation or you can get them for free in exchange for a Tweet or Facebook post!

Just double click on the rainbow banner:

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Carrie Stone