HRPAY 19-08, Removal of Children of Same-Sex Domestic Partners from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB)

Published: October 7, 2019
Effective: Pay Period 18, 2019

Summary

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) 15-207 reverses the previous guidance which allowed Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Federal Employees Dental/Vision Program (FEDVIP) coverage for dependent stepchildren of same-sex domestic partners. All functionality, edits, and calculations have been removed from National Finance Center (NFC) systems as a result of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell versus Hodges which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.

Affected Systems

System

System Impact

EmpowHR

Removed the question Is this SF 2809 adding or removing non-tax dependent stepchildren of a domestic partner? from the Health Benefits page - Elections tab

Personnel Input and Edit System (PINE)

Removed edits and calculations

Web-based Entry, Processing, Inquiry, and Correction System (EPIC Web)

Removed the question Is this SF 2809 adding or removing non-tax dependent stepchildren of a domestic partner? from the Health Registration Form (SF-2809) page - Other tab

Implementation

Agency Human Resources (HR) offices are responsible for notifying employees of this ineligibility. Employees are then responsible for submitting the proper documentation to their HR office to have the previously-eligible children removed from FEHB and FEDVIP.

EmpowHR

Users are no longer able to enter dependent stepchildren of same-sex domestic partners on the Health Benefits page - Elections tab.

Personnel Input and Edit System (PINE)

PINE will no longer edit the number of stepchildren against the first three positions in the Remarks section of the SF 2809, Health Benefits Election Form.

Web-based Entry, Processing, Inquiry, and Correction System (EPIC Web)

Users are no longer able to enter dependent stepchildren of same-sex domestic partners on the Health Registration Form (SF-2809) page - Other tab.

Resources

The procedure manual for this application, which is available online at the NFC Web site, is being updated to include the information in this bulletin. To view this procedure, select HR and Payroll Clients from the MyNFC drop-down menu on the NFC Home page. At the HR and Payroll Clients page, select the Publications tab and select the applicable category to access the procedure manual within the category.

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the customer service portal.