Obama admin. wastes no time after DOMA defeat, providing 5 new benefits for legal spouses, kids

[bigtree]

Last edited Sat Jun 29, 2013, 11:41 AM - Edit history (1)

tweeted by, Ari Melber ?@AriMelber 13h

Fast. New Obama admin memo provides 5 new benefits for legal spouses, children, after DOMA ruling http://s.shr.lc/125bobk @WashingtonBlade


U.S. Office of Personnel Management has instituted new guidance for married gay federal employees in the wake of the DOMA court ruling . . .

The memorandum, dated June 28 and signed by OPM acting director Elaine Kaplan, identifies five new areas of benefits that will be available after the court decision for the legal spouses as well as newly qualified children and stepchildren of gay federal employees.

“There are numerous benefits that are affected by the Supreme Court’s decision, and it is impossible to answer every question that you might have,” Kaplan, a lesbian, writes. “Nevertheless, I want to assure you that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is committed to working with the Department of Justice to ensure swift and seamless implementation of the court’s ruling.”

The five new benefits identified in the memo are:

• health insurance through the Federal Health Employees Benefits (FEHB) plan;

• life insurance through the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program;

• dental and vision insurance through the Federal Employee Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP);

• long-term care insurance under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP);

• retirement benefits;

• and the ability to submit claims for medical expenses through flexible spending accounts.


read more: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/06/28/opm-lays-out-post-doma-plan-for-fedl-employee-benefits/

[graham4anything]

1. Another major achievement duringfrom the terms of President Obama. Historical. Best since LBJ.

[bike man]

38. But does this achievement negate continuing wars, spying, Trans Pacific Partnership Pact, pipelines,

vast amounts of money sent to other countries while the US has vast numbers of people hungry, homeless, jobless? Etc.

It's almost like, "Gee, 5 years in office, and already an achievement."

[graham4anything]

39. My health insureance went down 65% thanks to the great health care.

1000s of advancements

Why not take your questions to BushPaulfamilyinc and ask them

Why not ask Ralph Nader why he threw and election to the republicans in 2000.

Why not ask Dick Cheney who hated George W. Bush the last three years.

Maybe they can give perfection

Ask anyone who voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980, why did they do such a stupid thing?
Ask anyone who did not vote for Jimmy Carter the same question

When the Hyperbole stops, then an adult conversation can begin

[bike man]

40. The important thing in all this is you saved some money on health insurance. Now, if

only something could be done for the jobless, homeless, those without medical care at all, kids whose schools are either substandard or closing.

Money going to help Syrian refugees directly, money going to help Jordan defray the expense of hosting Syrian refugees, TPP pact, pipelines, money for continuing wars - all this while hundreds of thousands and (at the expense of it being called hyperbole) maybe even millions of citizens in the US could be using this money which we are told is not available.

Why take questions to BushPaulfamilyind, or Nader, or Cheney or those others mentioned when THEY ARE IN THE PAST and we have a man in the White House who has been there for one complete and one partial term AND ALL THAT CRAP STILL EXISTS, IS ONGOING, IS NOT STOPPING.

But hey, you saved a couple of bucks, so it's all good, huh.

OMG!

[Kath1]

2. Well done.

Thank you, President Obama!

[postulater]

3. Check. Mate.

Done.

Game over.

Next?

[yardwork]

13. The game is not over yet. 70% of Americans live in states that ban gay marriage.

[Freddie]

15. And those people do not get federal benefits of marriage

Even if they legally married in another state, a same-sex couple who lives in one of these states (like my wonderful PA) gets nothing; now they're double-screwed.

[yardwork]

16. That's correct.

The removal of one part of DOMA helps the gay people who live in states that allow equal marriage. The rest of us didn't get any more rights as a result of the court decision.

President Obama has routinely said that the decision about gay rights needs to be left up to the states. That leaves 70% of us living in states that ban equal marriage.

[bigtree]

17. let's see how far they go in actually extending benefits

. . . and look to see if implementation follows earlier efforts to recognize 'domestic partnerships' and 'civil unions' as eligible.

[yardwork]

23. North Carolina bans domestic partnerships and civil unions too. So do other states.

In 30 states it is illegal for gay people to get married. Those states don't recognize gay marriages from other states. Many of those states include bans on domestic partnerships and civil unions as well.

As long as this is left up to states' rights we will have a divided country.

[bigtree]

24. the administration makes the definition

. . . they made the designation, themselves and applied their own criteria in extending benefits to domestic partners, so far. I expect the administration to be even more insistent and inclusive now that the path is cleared.

I realize that these very states will almost assuredly make some move to block these folks from receiving federally granted benefits - and I'm well aware that any executive action falls short of actual federal law, but, without the federally sanctioned discrimination that DOMA provided for these states to hide behind, I would think that denial or refusal to accommodate these individuals who the federal govt. says are eligible will be seen by the courts as nothing more than outright discrimination against them.

[yardwork]

25. We'll see.

[bike man]

41. And yet, despite this disparity, and all the other crappy stuff that is ongoing and has been for

several years, there will be some who will shout to the heavens that all is right in the world.

[postulater]

18. Yup. That's the 'next' part. nt

[Change has come]

27. These benefits are nation wide!

Thomas Richards, an OPM spokesperson, confirmed that the guidance applies to all employees in legal same-sex marriages — even those that live in states that don’t recognize marriage equality.

[yardwork]

31. Do you have a link or citation? This is not what we're being told by lawyers in North Carolina.

I'm not sure what you mean by "guidance."

[Change has come]

32. That snippet was from the OP's link.

The guidance is from a memo issued by the Office of Personnel Management concerning all federal employees.

I apologize for not making that clear.

[yardwork]

33. Ok. That's different from marriage equality nationwide, though.

I was responding to a poster who stated "game over." The game is far from over. Thirty states have bans on equal marriage. Many of those are constitutional amendments. Many of them ban all domestic partnerships and civil unions as well. Lifting DOMA does nothing to change all those state bans. Seventy percent of the nation lives in a state that bans marriage for gay people. Those include every single state in the South and most of the states in the Midwest and West.

[DURHAM D]

4. Thanks for posting.

I am wondering if our federal government can also instruct private corporations, who are providing the contractors for such a large portion of our government work/functions now, will be subject to expansion of the same types of benefits. If so the Carlyle Group is going to be pissed.

[bigtree]

9. well, that's what happend after Johnson's executive order on equal employment

. . . private contractors were very much the target of the initiatives. I'd go as far to say that they were initially the primary focus of the government effort.

[djean111]

5. Why are these "new" benefits?

Would'nt they automatically get these benefits now that they are considered real people?
Would Obama have granted access to the same benefits as straight couples no matter what SCOTUS ruled?

[bigtree]

6. new to these individuals and families

It's pretty clear what's happening. These folks were barred from receiving these benefits and the administration is correctly directing their agencies to recognize this group as newly eligible.

[djean111]

8. Yes, that's what I thought.

It is wonderful they are getting the benefits they are now legally entitled to - I don't think Obama had a choice, and obviously they would not be getting these benefits if the SCOTUS had ruled the other way.

So - thank you SCOTUS!

Credit where credit is due.

Merely following the letter of the law is not an achievement; giving benefits to gay couples without the SCOTUS ruling would have been an achievement.

[bigtree]

12. you should know that the admin. began the effort to extend benefits well before the ruling

from the WaPo:

"The Obama administration previously extended some federal employment-related benefits to same-sex couples, regardless of marital status, who meet certain standards for domestic partnership.

Those benefits include a variant form of survivor annuity called an “insurable interest” annuity that typically is less valuable than a standard annuity; eligibility to enroll in the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, for which there is no government contribution toward premiums; and eligibility as family members for certain employee relocation benefits, among others. Employees also can use sick leave to care for those partners or their children under certain circumstances.

Proposals to grant the full range of federal employment benefits to same-sex domestic partners have made only limited progress in Congress over the years . . .



Jun-03-10

Obama orders more benefits for same-sex partners of federal workers

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered executive-branch agencies to extend to employees' same-sex partners the same benefits provided to their opposite-sex partners, to the extent allowed by law.

The move followed up on Obama's memorandum last year that extended some benefits to same-sex partners of government workers and ordered federal agencies to review additional benefits that also could be available under existing laws.

"That process has now concluded, and I am proud to announce that earlier today, I signed a memorandum that requires executive agencies to take immediate action to extend to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees a number of meaningful benefits, from family assistance services to hardship transfers to relocation expenses," Obama said in a statement.

read: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/02/obama.gay.benefits/index.html?eref=rss_politics


Apr 11, 2013

Obama budget adds domestic same-sex partners to Obamacare

Washington (CNN) – Buried deep inside President Obama's 2014 budget released on Wednesday is a new proposal to expand federal health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners.

Framed as a measure to reduce the deficit, the proposal would amend the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program beginning in 2015 to add a "self plus one" enrollment option in addition to the "self" and "family" options. Like the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act that the administration has endorsed in prior budgets, this new FEHB formulation would work within the current legal constraints of the Defense of Marriage Act by adding a new classification for additional enrollees beyond family.

read: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/10/obama-budget-adds-domestic-same-sex-partners-to-obamacare/



Support Federal Employee Domestic Partner Benefits. (from the same period)

The Budget proposes a change to the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program that would create a new “self plus one” option for FEHB coverage for Federal employees. Same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees would be among those eligible to receive coverage under this new option. This proposal would align the FEHB program with best practices in the private sector as larger employers competing for talent are increasingly offering domestic partner benefits. The Administration also continues to support the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, which provides the same benefits to same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees as those provided to married heterosexual partners of Federal employees, including not only health insurance, but also survivor annuities, compensation for work-related injuries, travel and relocation benefits, life insurance, and vision and dental benefits. In addition, the Administration has also, to the extent permissible by current law, expanded benefits for same-sex partners of Federal employees.

read: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/factsheet/strengthening-the-economy-for-the-lgbt-community

[rhett o rick]

10. Nothing happens in the Federal bureaucracy "automatically".

Passing a law (in this case repealing a law) does nothing by itself. Agencies have to decide on how and when to implement. Procedures have to be written or changed, forms have to be changed or created, computer programs have to be changed, people have to be trained, etc.

I am glad to see that it appears that this Admin is going to act quickly. If Bush was president, the actual implementation could be dragged out for months or years.

[djean111]

11. Insult about "civics class" aside, I just don't see that quickly complying with a repeal of a law

is a glowing achievement.

[rhett o rick]

14. Sorry, that wasnt intended to insult you but the education system that no longer teaches civics.

One of the most important powers of the executive branch is the power of "implementation" of laws. Once a law is passed it doesnt mean a thing until the agency actually gets a budget and writes the new directives. Those that directly implement the law work to directives and not laws. A president thru his agencies can slow down this process and in some cases actually stop the process until Congress applies pressure.

It appears that the president will try to push the implementation of this change in law thru.

I apologize for the civics class comment.

[rhett o rick]

7. I am glad to see such fact work. nm

[bigtree]

19. kick

[sheshe2]

20. Kick and Rec!

For each of the four insurance benefits in the memo, gay federal employees must elect to make a change within the window of 60 days between June 26, 2013 and August 26, 2013 to enroll. With respect to health, dental and vision insurance, the next opportunity would be at the start of open season later this year.

For employees who already have health coverage under a FEHB plan, coverage will begin immediately. For those who don’t, benefits will be effective on the first day of the first pay period after the enrollment request is received.

This is a great start bigtree!

Sure we still have a fight on our hands, however We will Stand and be Heard! One Voice!

[MNBrewer]

21. That's very good

I'm glad they're moving so fast on this. It will be very interesting to see how everything shakes out, e.g., how couples who live separately, one in an equality state and one not, or a couple who marry in an equality state, but move to a bigot state.

How will they be treated, by the IRS, by INS...?

[MNBrewer]

22. Dear all, please notice that I said something GOOD about the Obama Administration!!

I paid it a complement, and said I was pleased at how they are doing something.

I'm NOT just an "Obama basher", despite what some might want to think.

[Tx4obama]

35. About a week ago I posted a video regarding Obama that was negative...

... so I'm NOT just an "Obama cheerleader", despite what some might want to think

[Scurrilous]

26. K & R

[Change has come]

28. These benefits are nation wide!

Snip:

Thomas Richards, an OPM spokesperson, confirmed that the guidance applies to all employees in legal same-sex marriages — even those that live in states that don’t recognize marriage equality.

[Zorra]

29. K&R nt

[Hissyspit]

30. Breaking: U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Halt Same-Sex Marriages in California

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014523236

[bigtree]

34. freaking fantastic!

thanks for posting!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014523236#post27

[ctsnowman]

36. K & R