A bipartisan group of senators have reintroduced a bill that would exempt volunteer firefighters and emergency responders from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate.

The bill is led by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and has more than 20 cosponsors.

“This sensible, bipartisan fix will ensure that the law permanently and properly distinguishes between full-time, paid emergency responders and volunteers so that emergency response agencies can continue focusing on keeping our communities safe,” Warner wrote in a statement.

PPACA’s employer mandate already does not count volunteer fire departments or ambulances as employers as part of its rule, but the senators still want official legislation so the administration does not “reverse course” on that decision.

“These dedicated men and women, who volunteer to risk their lives for their fellow citizens, have enough on their plate without having to worry about whether excessive Washington red tape will close their station. The House has already passed this bill and I urge the Senate to do the same,” Toomey said.

According to the senators’ statement, about 750,000 volunteer firefighters serve in 20,000 all-volunteer and 5,000 combination career-volunteer fire departments throughout the United States.

The bill to exempt volunteer firefighters follows a similar measure that would allow businesses to exclude veterans from their employee count for purposes of meeting certain requirements of PPACA. The finance committee of the U.S. Senate adopted the Hire More Heroes Act of 2013 in late January.

The employer mandate kicked in at the start of the year for employers of 100-plus workers and will phase in for employers of 50 to 100 people next year.

Instant Insights /

Bill would exempt volunteer firefighters from employer mandate

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