Austin City Council Member Bill Spelman stated on his Facebook page Monday that domestic partners will be eligible for COBRA-style benefits.

The benefits apply to partners of city employees, in the case of termination, death or divorce.

"When the city passed domestic partner benefits, some of the ramifications were not immediately clear," Spelman said on his Facebook page. "A specific gap was brought to light when one of the employees from my previous council term who still worked for the city passed away, leaving his partner ineligible for COBRA benefits. "

Spelman said City Manager Marc Ott notified his office Monday that the partners of more than 200 city workers will qualify.

"My office brought this to the city manager's attention and we are absolutely thrilled that they took action," Spelman said online.

Austin has provided insurance benefits to same-sex couples since 2006.