Furloughed Federal Employees may opt not to seek medical treatment during these uncertain times due to loss of salary. Seeking a change in Section 125 of Internal Revenue Code to allow the EVENT of a Furlough to be defined as a LIFE CHANGING EVENT. This will allow a Furloughed employee to adjust their FSA deduction thereby making more of their salary available to spend on cost of living.
Looking to CHANGE THIS:
"FSAFEDS must abide by IRS guidance, which does not allow a furlough, in and of itself, to be considered as a Qualifying Life Event (QLE) to change the annual election amount of an FSA. OPM does not have the authority to issue guidance that is inconsistent with or supersedes the regulations of another agency (in this case the IRS). "