Have employer group contracts and member EOCs/COIs been revised?
Yes, contracts, EOCs/COIs have been revised to show that domestic partners and their children are covered the same as spouses. Portfolio booklets contain the narrow coverage. If a group has broad coverage, Blue Shield of California has developed an EOC/COI Supplement (i.e., insert). This supplement is almost identical to the one used today for groups that have Blue Shield of California’s pre-AB 2208 domestic partner coverage. Blue Shield of California has also developed a new EOC/COI Supplement (100-00181-007 1/05) for the groups with a January 1, 2005 renewal date that either opted to wait until their renewal in 2006 or renewed before this change was communicated. This supplement will indicate that the member’s health plan does not have domestic partner coverage as stated in the EOC/COI.
