(Santa Fe, New Mexico) The New Mexico government has agreed to offer health and other benefits to the domestic partners of retired state government workers.

In 2003, Bill Richardson issued an executive order providing state employees, both gay and straight, with the option of providing their partners health insurance through domestic partner coverage. Under the order, domestic partner coverage is not available to employees after they retire, while spousal coverage is provided. 

The retired state workerswith the help of the ACLU filed suit claiming the state discriminated against them in canceling the health benefits. 

The lawsuit charged that the state’s policy of denying lesbian and gay state retirees equal health insurance for their partners violated the state constitution’s equality guarantees. 

Unlike their straight colleagues, lesbian and gay employees are barred from marrying in the state and therefore, in the absence of domestic partner benefits, are denied equal compensation.

Tuesday, the state agreed to extend the benefits retroactive to 2003.

“We are very pleased that the state has agreed to settle this litigation and provide the insurance.  It wasn’t fair that the state forced lesbian and gay employees to pay the high cost of health care for often inferior health insurance for their families when they worked just as hard as their straight colleagues,” said Peter Simonson of the ACLU of New Mexico.  

“I’m sure this will be welcome news to all lesbian and gay state employees, but especially to those who have retired or are planning to do so soon.” 

Under the settlement, the state has agreed to develop a process for enrolling those interested during the next open enrollment period, which comes this fall.  

“This is fantastic news.  We can finally start planning our retirement,” said Havens Levitt, who has been a teacher for the Albuquerque public school for 25 years. 

 “Until now, our only option was for me to keep working because my partner’s employment doesn’t provide insurance for her and private insurance was just too expensive.  It means a lot that the state has acknowledged I should be treated the same as my straight colleagues.”