USFS: Temporary Wildland Firefighters Now Eligible For Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

USFS: Temporary Wildland Firefighters Now Eligible For Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

What: USDA and DOI Temporary Firefighters are Now Eligible to Participate in the Federal Employee Health Insurance. (FEHB)
Who: All Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) Temporary Firefighters are Now Eligible to Participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program
Why: This is a top priority for our agency and HRM is ready to start enrolling employees who are eligible and choose to enroll., Forest Service Human Resources Management (HRM) staff is working closely with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to implement the new regulation that allows our temporary firefighters the opportunity to enroll in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.

OPM Announces Rule Change to Allow Federal Firefighters Access to Health Insurance

Washington, DC - Today, responding to a direction from President Obama, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published an interim final regulation that immediately extends eligibility for health insurance coverage under the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program to temporary firefighters and fire protection personnel working on wildland fires across the country. This announcement ensures that federal firefighters and their families have access to the same health insurance afforded to full time federal employees.

"Issuing this interim final regulation meets President Obama's direction to ensure that the brave men and women who compose our nation's federal firefighter ranks, and who are currently fighting dangerous wildfires in states across the country, are eligible for the same health insurance available to other federal employees, retirees and their families," said OPM Director John Berry.

OPM worked closely with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) - the two agencies that employ our nation's wildland federal firefighting force - to provide thousands of temporary federal firefighters and their families with a simple, expedited process to gain access to the coverage they deserve.

Many federal firefighters are temporary employees because of the seasonal nature of their work. Under previous regulations, they were not eligible for health insurance coverage under the FEHB program, which provides insurance to other federal employees, retirees, and their families.

Under the rule change championed by the President of the United Sates Barack Obama, the FEHB program will officially be extended to federal firefighters and fire protection personnel temporarily employed to respond to the wildland fires.

As a result, the men and women of the wildland firefighting force will have the option to purchase FEHB coverage for themselves and their families - providing health care coverage while they fight fires, with the option to continue their coverage at their own expense when they return home.

"Ever since I served as mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, I've had a deep respect for our firefighters - and I know that when a federal firefighter is heading out to the line to defend Americans' lives and property from dangerous, destructive wildfire, it doesn't matter whether they're a "temporary" firefighter or not. Today's announcement means that every one of our federal firefighters will have the health coverage he or she deserves - and that's something we can be proud of," said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

"The men and women who join the battle against devastating wildfires across the nation each summer take on the same risks as their full-time colleagues, and they deserve the same health benefits for their courageous work," "The President asked us to work together to close this gap on behalf of federal firefighters and their families who make sacrifices to protect the lives and property of all Americans." - said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

There is a 60 day comment period for the public to provide additional feedback on the new regulations. OPM plans to issue additional guidance on enrollment and administration of this regulation to agencies through the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and to agency Benefits Officers through a Benefits Administration Letter. OPM is also notifying FEHB insurance carriers about the change to expedite access to health care under their health plan enrollment. Each agency then is responsible for outreach, education, and enrollment processing of eligible employees.

The regulation can be found here: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-17623_PI.pdf

Posted information on the HRM Benefit’s website at: http://fsweb.asc.fs.fed.us/HRM/benefits/news.php or if employees would like to speak directly with an HR Specialist, please call 1-877-372-7248, press 2, press 2 again, and then press 4 to request to speak with the Benefits staff.

Source: www.opm.gov/news/opm-announces-rule-change-to-allow-federal-firefighters-access-to-health-insurance,1756.aspx

California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Wednesday, July 18, 2012