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Bill to add PTSD as a compensable workers' comp injury for first responders draws emotional testimony and fiscal debate
Summary
Senate Bill 394 would make post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a compensable workers' compensation injury for specified first responders. Sponsors and first-responder organizations argued early treatment reduces costs and saves careers; insurers and self-insured employers warned of uncertain long-term costs and urged study; sponsor offered an
Senate Finance and Claims heard testimony on Senate Bill 394, a proposal to add post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a compensable work-related injury for a narrowly defined set of first responders. The sponsor framed the bill as narrow, limited to PTSD (not broader mental-health diagnoses), and targeted to specified job classes.
Sponsor Senator Cora Newman (Senate District 30) rebutted the fiscal note and said the committee should consider data from comparable states and studies showing early treatment reduces per-claim cost. "The fiscal notes assumptions are overly conservative and not supported by real world data," Newman said, citing RAND and examples from Florida and Oregon to argue Montana’s impact would be far lower than the fiscal note's $1.07 million estimate.
Proponents emphasized both financial and human impacts. Carter Marsh of the Montana State Fire Fighters Association noted Montana State Fund’s announced rate decrease and dividend history as evidence of system solvency and urged passage. Dan Smith of the Montana Police Protective Association and the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association said treating PTSD early saves money for departments and helps officers return to duty; he characterized the change as fiscally responsible and a matter of public safety and suicide prevention.
Opponents included Peter Strauss of the Montana Self Insurers Association, Kevin Bartsch (MSGIA), and representatives of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Strauss told the committee increasing benefits "doesn't come for free," cited uncertainty in national data and actuarial challenges, and recommended studying alternative program models such as the Georgia approach that provides comparable benefits through health-insurance-like mechanisms.
Informational witnesses included Nick Mazanec (Montana State Fund) and Quinlan O'Connor (Department of Labor and Industry). Committee questioning covered claim frequency, per-claim cost variability, whether costs would be borne by municipalities and schools, and how short-term disability or health insurance interact with workers' compensation. Mazanec said classification codes and employer exposures determine who ultimately bears premium increases and that costs would generally be paid by the employer entities that carry those classification codes.
Sponsor Newman closed by stressing the bill's targeted scope, the potential cost savings from early treatment and reduced turnover, and personal stories from communities affected by first-responder suicides. No committee vote on SB 394 was recorded during this session.
