01/29/2020
HB308 PTSD Bill hearings today gained bi-partisan support.
Below is a recap of today’s hearing on HB 308 in the House Insurance Committee from Gongwer:
PTSD Coverage Bill Draws Bipartisan Support
Broad support was evident Tuesday for the latest proposal to require state coverage of post-traumatic stress disorder for first responders, however the chairman of the House committee said after the legislation's third hearing he is unsure how leadership wants to proceed.
The measure (HB 308) again drew spirited testimony in the House Insurance Committee from representatives of public safety services backing the proposal and business groups opposed. The same panel included similar language last year in the biennial budget for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation (HB 80) before sending it to the Senate, but that provision along with other policy changes in the package was eventually stripped out before that bill was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Nevertheless, committee Chairman Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), when asked about the bill's status after the hearing, said he had not yet heard on whether the bill would be prioritized for movement in the near term by Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford).
The chairman's comments came after bill sponsor Rep. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) won support for an amendment that removed a one-year cap on PTSD services covered by the BWC. It was adopted on a 13-2 vote, although one of the backers – Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) – said his vote was a courtesy to the sponsor but the removal of the limit made him less likely to support the bill in future votes.
During the hearing that featured two in-person witnesses, however, support for extending the coverage was voiced by members on both sides of the political aisle.
Mike Weinman, director of government affairs for the Fraternal Order of Police, noted in testimony that the debate has been ongoing in the General Assembly for nine years. Over that period, dozens of first responders have committed suicide, he said.
"Thirty states now require their workers' comp systems to cover PTSD for first responders. It is critically important to provide coverage, through BWC, for first responders who experience PTSD," he said. "Failing to treat PTSD often leads to death through suicide and creates on-the-job issues such as avoidance and hypersensitivity. Once identified, PTSD can be treated effectively, allowing first responders to continue their careers serving our great state."
Mr. Weinman's testimony was met with a few mostly friendly questions from members of the committee, which prompted him to recount his group's arguments in support of the bill. They also provided him the opportunity to point out that BWC has been returning billions to employers over the last several years through rebates and rate cuts, while saying the bureau's estimated fiscal impacts under the policy change have dropped from $200 million to $44 million a year.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the only other group to testify in person, got plenty of pushback on its position from Democrats and Republicans.
Kevin Shimp, the group's director of labor and legal affairs, largely reiterated past testimony in arguing that the bill would reverse decades of precedents for BWC by extending coverage beyond physical injuries.
"Ohio law since the creation of the state's workers' compensation system in 1912 has always required an employee to have a physical harm or injury in order to participate in workers' compensation benefits," he said. "The so-called 'mental-mental' claim – a psychological condition that arises solely from stress – has never been compensated in Ohio."
In addition to allowing a purely mental claim into Ohio's workers' compensation system for the first time, Mr. Shimp continued, "HB308 fails to include any guardrails that would help assure the injury arose out of and during the course of employment. The lack of guardrails is concerning to the Ohio Chamber because states that have addressed the issue of compensating mental conditions included significant guardrails."
He countered Mr. Weinman's testimony regarding cost estimates by stating that BWC's projection for HB80 was $70 million a year.
On questioning from the chair, Mr. Shimp said his group would support a new General Revenue Fund-backed program, financed by public employers of first responders, that would provide PTSD coverage outside of the BWC.
Most other questions came from panelists seeking to further understand why the Chamber would not support a PTSD program. In response, Mr. Shimp mostly referred back to his prepared comments.
Rep. Patton, the bill sponsor, pushed back on the notion that the law shouldn't be changed because it dates to 1912, noting that firefighter cancer wasn't covered dating to 1803 until the legislature took action last session (SB27, 132nd General Assembly).
Pointing to the BWCs employer rebates in recent years, the lawmaker added, "Are we going to put a price tag" on the mental health of first responders?"
Rep. Haraz Ghanbari (R-Perrysburg), referred to his experiences serving in the military in Afghanistan while rhetorically asking the witness how many people in the room have PTSD. He said it's something you can't determine based on a physical injury.
The Republican remarked that it was "disheartening" that the debate over the issue had gone on for so long without the state taking action.
Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) served up some of the harshest assessments of the Chamber's position, calling it "despicable."
After Mr. Shimp said he did not know if there was any basis for the position in the medical community that a PTSD diagnosis could be established in a workers' comp hearing unless there is a physical injury, Rep. Brown said, "Well, if you're taking a position you should have the answer to that."
"I think you're on the wrong side of what's right," the lawmaker added.
Responding to a question from Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland), the Chamber's representative pointed out that Ohio is one of only two states with a public monopoly on workers' comp coverage and the other state systems that have provided PTSD coverage have more options in terms of the insurance marketplace.
Rep. Merrin, responding in part to earlier comments from Mr. Weinman, defended the Chamber's advocacy regarding the bill, noting that while it would only impact public employer coverage those local entities get their revenue in part from businesses.
The County Commissioners Association of Ohio and the Ohio Township Association submitted written testimony in opposition to the bill.
"Our members have concerns about the unknown cost implications of this policy change and the potential for a significant increase in claims," the groups stated.
"As currently written, the language in HB308 does not include certain parameters around the coverage that have been considered in the past, such as if claims must be tied to an identifiable single incident. Such guardrails may be appropriate."
The Ohio Manufacturers' Association also submitted written comments in opposition
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