Effective January 1, 2014, children of federal employees who are same-sex domestic partners living in states prohibiting same-sex marriage are eligible for coverage under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.This eligibility is in addition to that provided under Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administrative guidance earlier this year to legally married same-sex spouses and any newly eligible (step)children of federal workers, regardless of their state of residence.

Final Regulations recently issued by the Office of Personnel Management define a "domestic partnership" as a committee relationship between two adults of the same sex in which the partners are one another's sole domestic partner and intend to remain so, they live together, share responsibility for financial obligations, are not married or civil union partners, and submit documentation demonstrating as such. Eligible individuals must also certify that they are not committing fraud and they would marry if they were allowed to under the laws of their state of domicile. If these conditions and certifications are met, then the child of a federal employee in a same-sex domestic partnership will be considered a step-child who is the child of a domestic partner in the following plan year. Recognizing that the issue of same-sex marriage is evolving in states across the country, the regulations establish that eligibility for coverage will depend on whether an enrollee seeking to cover the child of his or her same-sex domestic partner lives in a state authorizing same-sex marriage as of the last day prior to Open Season for enrollment in benefits for the following year. Stepchildren who are eligible as of that day will remain eligible for the entire calendar year, even if the state changes is marriage laws mid-year or the couple moves to a state that permits same-sex marriage. Read more.