Bills Would Define Catastrophic Injury in PSEBA
The Illinois Public Safety Employee Benefits Act provides
that employers must pay the entire health insurance premium for public safety
employees who suffer “catastrophic” injuries in the line of duty. This benefit includes coverage for the
employee’s spouse and dependent children as well. This is a very costly benefit as it covers
the injured employee and his or her spouse for life. Dependent children are covered to the age of
25 if the child continues to be dependent for support or is a full time or
part-time student and remains dependent for support.
In the Krohe v. City of Bloomington case, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that the Illinois
Two bills were recently introduced in the General Assembly to attempt to
resolve this issue. House Bill 2224 would define a “catastrophic injury” as “a grievous or serious injury or impairment of a nature that is sufficient to permanently preclude the injured employee from performing any gainful work." Senate Bill 1245 would define a "catastrophic injury" as one in which the “consequences of an injury that permanently prevent an
individual from performing any gainful work.” The enactment of either bill would be a substantial change as it
would mean that a police officer or firefighter who could no longer perform the
essential functions of their public safety position but can still be employed
in some other capacity would not be entitled to PSEBA benefits.
PSEBA benefits are very costly and should be reserved for
those who are truly in need of them. A
new definition of the term “catastrophic injury” would help to ensure that only
those public safety employees who are truly in need of PSEBA benefits would
receive them.
Post Authored by Bob McCabe, Ancel Glink
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