US gives temporary health insurance to seasonal firefighters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government on Tuesday granted temporary healthcare coverage for seasonal firefighters battling U.S. wildfires this summer, a move President Barack Obama said would guarantee that those putting themselves in harm's way received the care they deserved.
The new mandate gave temporary firefighters and their families access to the same health insurance offered to full-time federal employees, with the option of continuing coverage at their own expense when the firefighting season ended.
"Each day, these Americans put themselves in grave danger to save the lives of people they never met," Obama said in a statement. "Their heroism in battling the deadly fires that have impacted states across the country this summer inspires us all."
Firefighters in mostly Western states, including Colorado, have battled for weeks to contain a spree of wildfires that have killed at least six people, displaced tens of thousands of others and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Some 15,000 firefighters are on the federal government payroll, but 8,000 of them are classified as temporary, seasonal employees, making them ineligible for federal benefits such as health insurance.
read: http://www.empowher.com/wellness/content/us-gives-temporary-health-insurance-seasonal-firefighters
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Proud to be an American knowing that there are folks like you willing to sacrifice, risk, and toil; usually when we need the help the most. So glad to see that this administration heard y'all and acted on your behalf. 
