North Carolina lawmakers propose mental health plan for first responders

North Carolina lawmakers are proposing a health benefits plan for first responders diagnosed with a mental health condition connected to work that would, in part, mirror workers compensation benefits.

H. 463, introduced Wednesday, would establish a first responder mental health care benefits plan administered by the Department of Insurance as a supplemental insurance policy. The plan would cover “stress, mental injury, or mental illness that is medically diagnosed as an anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive and related disorder, sleep-wake disorder, or trauma and stressor-related disorder.”

The plan would provide a reimbursement of up to $5,000 per 12-month period for any out-of-pocket medical expenses incurred and income replacement equal to 75% of the first responder’s salary or $5,000 a month, whichever is less.

The bill would also cap disability benefits for mental injuries at 36 months.

North Carolina lawmakers have attempted in recent years to enact a post-traumatic disorder presumption for first responders, but those efforts failed to gain traction. Opponents have said that unknown costs of such presumptions prevent them from supporting such measures.