Same-sex partners of University System of New Hampshire employees will lose their health benefits unless they enter into a civil union by July.

The system, which has offered health benefits to same-sex partners since 2000, has 63 employees whose same-sex partners are covered out of about 4,300 employees at the state's public colleges and universities.

The policy change is becoming more common among businesses and organizations in states where same-sex partnerships have been legalized. The state of New Hampshire has made a similar policy shift.

On the state level, some employees shied away from civil unions because under federal law, the money an employer pays for coverage counts as extra taxable income. To combat that issue, the university system has promised to pick up the additional tax burden, which is expected to run between $800 and $1,200 depending on the employee's health plan.

Spokesman Matthew Cookson said the university system is not expected to save any money from the policy change, because the number of people who lose benefits because they don't enter into civil unions is expected to be offset by the added cost of paying the additional taxes.