NAPO reacts to PSOB’s proposed
regulations regarding 9/11 first responders’
healthcare claims
On Aug. 22, NAPO participated in the Public Safety
Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) stakeholder committee
meeting, which focused on the two new proposed
rules that were recently issued by the PSOB Office. The
first rule that came out on July 15 formalizes, and puts
into regulations, the PSOB Office’s process for determining 9/11-related health claims, and makes
changes to how the Office determines Hometown Heroes (heart
attack, stroke and vascular rupture) cases. The second rule, published on Aug. 22, makes numerous changes to the program, many
of which NAPO has spent years fighting to get implemented.
The first rule states that the PSOB Office will work collaboratively
with the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) and the Victims Compensation Fund (VCF), enacted by the James Zadroga
9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, to determine PSOB
9/11 exposure claims based on the WTCHP medical certifications
and VCF determinations. By relying on the determinations of the
WTCHP and the VCF, the PSOB Office states that it will be able to
process a significant number of 9/11-related claims. As of the meeting, the Office has approved 37 claims since implementing this policy at the beginning of April.
Further, for those 9/11-related claims that do not have a
WTCHP or VCF certification, the PSOB Office is adopting the
methodology established by the WTCHP and the VCF to determine claims, including recognizing the list of World Trade Centerrelated health conditions.
NAPO is still concerned with how this Adoption will interact with
the PSOB rule that all cases have to be filed within
three years of the death or injury date unless “good
cause” is shown. With this year being the 15th
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are concerned that
many 9/11-related claims will not be considered due
to the amount of time that has passed. NAPO will be
submitting comments on the proposed rule and we
will be insisting that the PSOB office have a grace period for “old
cases” to be filed.
As for how the PSOB Office is determining Hometown Heroes
claims, the proposed rule simplifies how the PSOB Office will establish whether the officer’s heart attack, stroke or vascular rupture was
a direct result of his or her engagement or participation in non-routine stressful or strenuous physical line-of-duty activity.
The second rule will make many changes to the program,
including a significant change that will move it closer to being a presumptive benefit program. Amongst other things, it will change from
“clear and convincing” to “more likely than not” the standard of proof
required to establish (1) an officer was injured because of his or her
status as a public safety officer, (2) total and permanent disability and
(3) parent-child relationship for purposes of the education benefit. It
will expand the definitions of “line-of-duty activity or action” and
“official capacity” to include a public safety officer’s actions to save
human life in certain limited circumstances but without regard to
jurisdiction. Also, it will revise the definition of “totally disabled” and
related provisions to address circumstances when a claimant performs work that is compensated but not substantial.
In addition to reviewing the proposed rules, the PSOB Office
announced the latest numbers of backlogged cases. As of Aug. 1,
there are 772 active death and disability cases (603 death and 169
disability), 124 cases at the hearing officer appeals level and 43 cases
being appealed to the director of the Bureau for Justice Assistance,
for a total of 939 cases.
There will be another stakeholder committee meeting mid-September for stakeholders to walk through their comments and concerns with the two proposed rules. NAPO will share our comments
on the two proposed rules with our members. If you have any questions about either proposed rule or the PSOB program in general,
please contact Andy Edmiston at [email protected].
NAPO meets with Senate Armed Services Committee
on 1033 Program
On Aug. 24, NAPO met with staff of Senate Armed Services Committee Chair John McCain (R-Arizona) to discuss our asks pertaining
to the Department of Defense 1033 Program in the Fiscal 2017
National Defense Authorization Act, (NDAA). The House and Senate
have each passed their own versions of the Act and have been negotiating a compromise bill throughout the summer.
NAPO is urging negotiators to lay the groundwork for rescinding
the Executive Order. During consideration of the bill in the Senate,
Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) offered an amendment, which
NAPO endorsed, that would have rescinded Executive Order 13688
and returned control of the 1033 Program to the Secretary of
Defense and Congress. Despite Senator Inhofe’s efforts, this amendment was rejected by a tie vote. Because this amendment failed, we
are unable to revoke the Executive Order in the NDAA, but we can
make certain there is support for law enforcement’s access to
surplus military equipment. d
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