President Obama just set another precedent by allowing part time-seasonal workers to get on the Federal insurance plans.
From Firehouse.com: White House officials told The Denver Post
Tuesday that President Obama has directed federal officials to begin
offering seasonal U.S. Forest Service firefighters the ability to
purchase federal health benefits.
Under a directive expected to be soon be made by the Office of
Personnel Management, seasonal firefighters will get the option by the
end of this month.http://www.firehouse.com/news/10740813/seasonal-wildland-firefighters-to-gain-federal-health-benefits
And so, how much will it cost?
Mark Davis, president of the Forest Service Council of the union,
estimates it would cost the federal government $17.5 million a year to
pay its share of premiums for seasonal firefighters working for the
Forest Service, which employs about 70 percent of federal firefighters.
The rest work for the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and other agencies.
http://www.firehouse.com/news/10739981/firefighters-push-for-health-benefits-gains-steam?utm_source=related_content_box&utm_medium=related_content&utm_campaign=10740813
Here's the problem: Obama just opened the door for all part time and seasonal employees of the Federal government to receive the same benefits. Work a couple of weeks for the Fed's and get almost free health insurance and how long does this benefit last? As a seasonal worker, they work about 6 months a year- with no guarantee that they will be hired back the next year. So, when will the benefits stop? When the season is over? When they are notified they won't be back? Or never?
The number can be in the hundreds of thousands of people who now may qualify for the health insurance, if Obama includes all seasonal and part time employees of the Federal government.. Where is the money coming from and why wasn't Congress allowed to weigh in on this issue?
Obama just made a huge change in benefits for all the employees who work for the Feds and it is going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money.
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