SC extending insurance to same-sex spouses

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s public benefits agency is extending health coverage to the spouses of gay employees.

The announcement Thursday from the state Public Employee Benefit Authority comes one day after a Charleston judge issued the state’s first gay marriage licenses.

Even as Attorney General Alan Wilson continues to fight federal court rulings that declare the state’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, the agency that oversees the benefits of South Carolina’s public workers and retirees says the rulings mean same-sex spouses and their children are eligible for benefits. That includes health, dental, vision and life insurance.

For couples married out of state before Nov. 18, enrollment begins immediately and extends through Dec. 19. Couples newly able to marry in South Carolina have 31 days from the marriage date to add coverage.