Partners of Federal Workers May Apply for Benefits in July

The same-sex partners of federal workers may begin to apply for long-term health care insurance in July. The Office of Personnel Management announced Tuesday that it would broaden the categories of federal workers eligible for the benefit, made possible by a memo President Barack Obama signed last June.

According to The Washington Post, "President Obama signed a memo last June extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers, including access to the government's Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program. On Tuesday, OPM essentially broadened the definition of relatives eligible for the program to include same-sex domestic partners of eligible federal workers, U.S. Postal Service workers and federal retirees."

The option only extends to same-sex domestic partners.

"OPM will not extend access to opposite-sex domestic partners, because they can obtain the insurance through marriage, 'an option not currently available to same-sex domestic partners,' the agency wrote in Tuesday's Federal Register," The Washington Post reported.