A Treasury Department announcement that the hours of volunteer firefighters and EMTs won't trigger mandatory health insurance requirements is being welcomed by West Virginia congressional representatives and area fire departments- even though few, if any, of the latter would have been affected.

The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, requires employers with 50 employees working at least 30 hours a week to provide health insurance or pay a fine. But regulations did not address whether volunteer first-responders - who sometimes receive benefits that result in them being classified as employees for tax purposes- would be counted. It was also unclear what activities would count toward a volunteer firefighter's hours.

On Friday, the Treasury Department posted an announcement on its blog stating that, based on public comments and input from members of Congress and volunteer first-responder representatives, pending final regulations "will not require volunteer hours of bona fide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental or tax-exempt organizations to be counted."

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