OPM rule would expand FLTCIP eligibility

The Office of Personnel Management last week published a proposed rule that would amend the regulation governing the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) to expand the definition of "qualified relative" to broaden eligibility to apply for coverage under the program.

In June 2010, OPM changed its regulation to allow a same-sex domestic partner of an employee or annuitant to apply for FLTCIP coverage as a "qualified relative." The proposed regulation now would expand the definition of "qualified relative" to include all domestic partners—both same-sex and opposite-sex—not only of federal and postal employees and annuitants, but also of active and retired members of the uniformed services.

Additionally, the proposal also would change the regulation to include adult children of domestic partners as qualified relatives by changing the definition of the term "stepchild" to include the child of a domestic partner.

All the newly eligible individuals, same-sex and opposite-sex alike, will be required to provide documentation to establish that they meet the criteria set out in the regulation.

The proposed rule, published in the Nov. 13 Federal Register, also clarifies that once FLTCIP coverage has begun, termination of a domestic partnership does not terminate a domestic partner's insurance coverage as long as the carrier continues to receive the required premium when due.