WorkSafeNB benefits to 1st responders with PTSD 'worthy expense'

A Progressive Conservative MLA says he's waiting to find out what his bill on post-traumatic stress disorder may cost taxpayers.

But Ross Wetmore says whatever the increase to the premiums that municipalities pay, it's a worthy expense.

• First responders with PTSD helped by Tory bill

The bill would extend WorkSafeNB benefits to emergency first responders with PTSD, eliminating the requirement they prove the disorder is work-related.

'What is it worth to NewBrunswickersto have the very best of health?- Ross Wetmore, PC MLA

"I do know a number of first responders that have committed suicide," Wetmore says.

"What is it worth to New Brunswickers to have the very best of health care? And this is their health care."

Wetmore introduced the bill as an opposition MLA, but the Liberal government likes the idea enough that it's now studying how to turn the bill into a workable piece of legislation.

If passed, it could increase what municipalities have to pay in premiums to WorkSafeNB for the first responders they employ.

The province asked WorkSafeNB to commission an actuarial study on the impact an increase would have on costs.

Wetmore says he doesn't know what the study found.

"They haven't been able to come up with some firm numbersyet," he says.

Graham Liberals consideredthe move

Eliminating the requirement to prove a condition is work-related,in effect, granting the benefits automatically once the claimant is diagnosed,is not a new idea.

In 2008, the Liberal government of Shawn Graham put a hold on implementation of a similar measure for firefighters after municipalities balked at the cost.

The legislation extended benefits to firefighters with cancer, eliminating the requirement they prove the cancer was work-related.

The Liberals were warned when they passed the bill in 2007 that it could cost municipalities $34 million in additional premiums.

The legislation was later changed to lessen the impact on municipal budgets.

From 2010 to 2015, cities, townsand villages paid an extra $444 per firefighter, per year, to cover the cost of increased benefits.That cost jumped to $690 this year.

For the city of Fredericton, the total cost this year is $73,140. Spokesperson Wayne Knorr says it's not clear yet what Wetmore's bill will mean for the city budget. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

The firefighter premium, which goes into a dedicated fund, is on top of what municipalities pay in regular WorkSafeNB premiums.

Wetmore's bill would not set up a separate fund, but would incorporate the premiums and benefits into the regular WorkSafeNB system.

He says he doesn't think the impact will be that big because, according to numbers he has, only five PTSD claims have been rejected by WorkSafe NB in the last five years.

"It's not as if the floodgates [of potential benefit payments] are big," Wetmore said.