RICHMOND (WRIC) – There are new concerns over whether the Affordable Care Act could shut down some Richmond area volunteer firefighters and rescue squads.
The Richmond Volunteer Rescue Squad serves the entire city, helping the Richmond Ambulance Authority respond to emergency calls. The squad has around 50 volunteers, but there are new concerns about the affordable care act and if volunteers will be designated as employees.
Warren Winner with the Rescue Squad says the IRS currently designates anyone that works over 30 hours as an employee, even if they’re a volunteer. This means agencies with more than 50 people like volunteer fire departments and rescue squads, would be required to offer insurance – something winner says won’t be possible for them
“It’s one of those things that was sort of slipped into the law and I sort of blame our legislators for not being fully cognizant of what they were signing onto,” he says. “From a dollars and cents standpoint it would be rather disastrous. It is difficult enough to collect the public donations.”