If you’re under age 65, you may be eligible for Medicare if you have permanent kidney failure or if you receive Disability benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not qualify you for Medicare on its own. Even if you receive SSI, you must meet one of the other requirements to qualify.

Wildland fires are managed from the air as well as the ground. Maybe you’ve witnessed the dramatic attack originating from above: a lumbering C-130 flying a couple hundred feet above the ground, dropping a load of 3,000 gallons of reddish-pink retardant; or a quick, nimble single engine air tanker (SEAT), zeroing in for a fast drop of 800 gallons of water onto a flaming front.

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Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. You’ll sign up for Medicare Part A and Part B through Social Security, so you can make both retirement and Medicare choices and withhold any premiums from your benefit payments.

You can get Medicare if you have ESRD. Call 800-772-1213 and tell the representative you want to apply for Medicare because you have ESRD. Available in most U.S. time zones Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., in English, Spanish, and other languages.

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What you will find at NIFC are staff in charge of developing and managing aircraft contracts and top national aviation managers who provide leadership, policy oversight and guidance, safety and airspace management, and overall supervision for the nation’s wildland fire aviation effort.

Aviation resources include a wide range of aircraft, almost all of which is privately contracted. As with virtually all other aspects of wildland fire management, the agencies share responsibility and aviation resources. The USFS is the lead agency for contracting and managing the fleet of large airtankers (LAT) and very large (VLAT) airtankers and most multi-engine water scoopers; while the BLM manages the SEAT fleet and most single engine water scoopers (fire bosses). But that’s only part of the aviation picture. The USFS, the BLM, the BIA and the NPS and the USFWS contract or own other types of aircraft, including smokejumper delivery planes; aerial supervision aircraft; transport and utility aircraft; and all sizes of helicopters used for water drops, mapping firelines and getting firefighters from one spot to the next. Federal agencies are responsible for managing 200 to 300 wildland fire aircraft.

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The aerial firefighting force can be expanded through local and state agency resources, or through “call-when-needed” contracts. Other than the airtanker base and the occasional smokejumper aircraft, air attack plane or transport jet, you won’t often see many aircraft at NIFC. Most aircraft are positioned at airports across the country in advance of expected wildfire activity. It only makes sense to place these vital assets closest to where they’re likely to be needed.

If you're 65 or older, you can enroll online for Parts A and B, or Part A only. You can delay Part B if you're already covered through an employer group health plan.