CMS Withdraws Proposal Requiring Long-Term Care Facilities To Grant Spousal Rights To Same-Sex Couples

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) withdrew a proposal that would require long-term care facilities (LTC) to afford spousal rights to same-sex couples. This announcement came via a notice from CMS that was officially published on October 4.

According to CMS, the withdrawal of the rule is not due to any desire to remove protections for individuals in same-sex marriages. Rather, CMS claims that the rule became redundant after the Supreme Court’s ruling of 2015’s Obergefell v. Hodges, which required all states to license and recognize same-sex marriage. However, some believe that . . .