Under California law, a group health policy that provides hospital, medical, or surgical expense benefits must treat a registered domestic partner of an employee:
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
CIC §10121.7 requires group health policies providing hospital, medical, or surgical expense benefits to cover the registered domestic partner of an employee to the same extent and on the same terms as a spouse. The policy may not offer a domestic partner coverage that is unequal to spousal coverage, and it may not discriminate between same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners or spouses. The insurer must also inform employers and guaranteed associations that this coverage is available, and it may require a valid Declaration of Domestic Partnership for verification. This is a California-specific requirement in the dependent and domestic partner coverage anchor (AH-III.B.1c), so the question is marked state=CA.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Marriage is not a precondition for coverage under the statute. The law protects registered domestic partners who are registered under Family Code Section 297, regardless of whether the partners are legally married, and requires equal treatment with spouses.
- C) Equal coverage means the same terms and conditions applied to a spouse, including the same premium treatment. Requiring a domestic partner to pay a premium at least 50 percent higher than the spouse rate would violate the statute's equality requirement.
- D) The statute mandates full coverage equal to spousal coverage, not a reduced emergency-only benefit. Limiting domestic partners to emergency care would create an unlawful distinction between domestic partners and spouses.
Memory hook
Registered domestic partner coverage must mirror spousal coverage, dollar for dollar.