The Law Enforcement Officers' and Fire Fighters' Plan 2 Retirement Board on Dec. 17 endorsed draft legislation intended to close gaps in medical‑premium reimbursements for surviving spouses of members who die in the line of duty.

Jacob White, staff to the board, presented three provisions that staff and actuaries priced: (1) reimburse surviving spouses for Medicare Part A and B premiums, (2) allow a one‑time opt‑out of PEP with COBRA‑equivalent reimbursement options, and (3) reimburse premiums paid during the delay between a member's death and Labor & Industries' (L&I) determination that the death was in the line of duty.

White said L&I provided two years of data showing 27 line‑of‑duty determinations with an average processing time of 506 days and one case that took 102 months through the appeals process. Board members expressed concern about long delays; one member suggested the board study legislative options for an expedited appeals process. White said staff would follow up to gather more detail about causes of delay.

After discussion, a board member moved and the board approved a motion endorsing provisions 1 and 3 (reimbursement of Medicare premiums and reimbursement for the premium gap during L&I determinations). Actuarial estimates in materials suggested the two reimbursement provisions together would increase the employee contribution rate by approximately 2 basis points (about 0.02 percentage point) in the board's modelling. Staff will work with DRS and L&I to refine costing and draft bill language and to prepare fiscal‑note estimates and administrative‑cost analyses.

The board emphasized it could consider additional or broader titles to allow future expansion to other emergency‑service personnel if desired; staff said the bill title could be drafted broadly and that DRS and actuarial staff would provide an administrative fiscal note.