[JURIST] The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) [advocacy website] has announced that health insurance company BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York [corporate website] has agreed to extend health-care benefits [NYCLU press release] to spouses in validly married same-sex couples. In February, judges for a New York state appeals court unanimously ruled [text, PDF; JURIST report] that the state must legally recognize valid out-of-state same-sex marriages. Following that ruling, the NYCLU filed a lawsuit [NYCLU backgrounder] in early July after the insurance company refused to provide coverage for a woman's same-sex spouse, even though the women had legally married in Canada in 2006. In response to the company's recent decision, NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said Monday:

We applaud Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Western New York for following the law and treating all married couples the same. Families who were denied coverage up until this point will now be able to protect themselves with health care coverage.