Important Information Required on Reporting Same-Sex Spouses
Given changes in state laws to recognize same-sex marriages, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has adopted a policy to treat same-sex marriages as they would opposite-sex marriages. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) now applies Medicare Secondary Payer Working Aged provisions to individuals in a same-sex marriage as well.
As a result, CMS requires insurers to have group customers identify and report all same-sex spouses covered under their health benefit plan. Group customers were notified by AmeriHealth New Jersey of this request and asked to respond by March 13, 2015.
To provide the information on same-sex spouses covered under your plan, please take the following steps:
- Open and complete the Married Spouse Worksheet for all same-sex spouses in your group.
- Save your document as [your_company_name_spouse], and keep a copy for your records.
- Email a copy of your completed worksheet to spouse_worksheetnj@amerihealth.com by March 13, 2015.