Duty disability: Lawmakers looking at how claims, benefits could change for first responders

MINNEAPOLIS -- A historic number of Minnesota officers have left the profession in the last few years. They're going out on what's called duty disability. It can range from a physical injury on the job to post-traumatic stress disorder.

How to help officers and how to manage the claims and benefits is being debated at the Capitol. There are a range of opinions, from small towns worried about carrying the cost, to a former officer who can't believe the benefit is being questioned.

Chris Steward, a retired Minneapolis police sergeant, is one of them.

"We see horrific things on a daily basis. It came to a point where everything I've seen, everything I've dealt with came to a boiling point. It came to a point where I literally would rather kill myself than go to work," Steward said.

He received duty disability benefits for PTSD.

"It provides a means, an opportunity for me to get better, for me to continue with my treatment while at the same time providing for my family," Steward said.

Public Employees Retirement Association, or PERA, approves and covers benefits for first responders if the injury or illness is connected to the job. The city where the person worked pays the health insurance for the individual, or family, until Medicare kicks in. And that's where some of the debate comes in about the process and who should pay.

New Ulm, located southwest of the Twin Cities with a population of about 14,000, had one a decade ago.

"That case, with inflation over the life of the claim, will cost about a quarter of a million dollars to the city," said New Ulm HR Director Shawna Boomgarden.

Even smaller, Waite Park near St. Cloud has three cases, which its city administrator estimates will run about $2 million over 20 years.

"That cost comes right out of our budgets, and so it's been something that we're concerned about, not just for the city of Waite Park, but statewide with how sustainable is it," said Waite Park City Administrator Shaunna Johnson.  

They want the state to fund the full cost. Right now, cities are reimbursed for a portion of it. Both Boomgarden and Johnson are on the employee relations board for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, lobbying for change.

"If you've got somebody that's truly injured and has that thing they should be getting those benefits, but if it's not something that they don't truly have that or if there's ways that we can look at minimizing that impacts, we ought to be looking at that," Johnson said.

"The other piece that we're looking at is really looking at changing the entire process. And we have no right during the appeals process," Boomgarden said.

Proposed changes could require first responders to apply year after year.

"Not all injuries are lifetime injuries," Boomgarden said.

They realize mental health resources could make an impact. The city of Corcoran is paying health insurance on one claim. A few years ago, it added a required annual mental health check-in, and offers therapy sessions to address stressors of the job.

That's the kind of change the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association supports.

"The place we want to get to is if somebody is experiencing that kind of trauma, we want to get them some help before it gets too late and they might have to seek a disability. And requiring trauma therapy is a big part of the push that we have going right now," said MCPA Executive Director Jeff Potts.

Potts says it could prolong the career of people in public safety.

"We think that most of those people after they receive treatment can come back to work," Potts said.

Steward thinks the focus should be on the problem. From his perspective, changing the requirements could ultimately hurt public safety.

"With the possibility of it getting taken away if you are injured on duty, it's gonna continue to discourage people from joining an honorable profession," Steward said.

PERA Executive Director Doug Anderson provided this statement to WCCO:

PERA supports HF1234/SF1959 as an important step towards improving mental healthcare access for our members and addressing inequities between member groups within the PERA Police & Fire Plan. The expected outcome of this legislation is fewer disability recipients because of improved treatment opportunities and more fairly aligned benefits between disability recipients who return to work with the compensation for active members.