On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its first guidance related to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Defense of Marriage Act. According to the memo, same-sex marriages will be recognized equally with other marriages in regards to nursing home coverage under private Medicare plans, ensuring that same-sex couples will not be separated because they could not access coverage in the same nursing facility. Marilyn Tavenner of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CSM) explains:
TAVENNER: Today, Medicare is ensuring that all beneficiaries will have equal access to coverage in a nursing home where their spouse lives, regardless of their sexual orientation. Prior to this, a beneficiary in a same-sex marriage enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan did not have equal access to such coverage and, as a result, could have faced time away from his or her spouse or higher costs because of the way that marriage was defined for this purpose.
