Wisconsin to provide health insurance to fallen officers’ families

Wisconsin will now allow families of police officers killed in the line of duty to continue health insurance coverage rather than switching to federal COBRA coverage.

Under SB 266, which passed unanimously and was signed by Gov. Tony Evers in October, families of municipal, Marquette University or University of Wisconsin police, and state police are covered. So, too, are Capitol police, Department of Revenue special agents and Department of Natural Resources conservation wardens.

Coverage will not apply to spouses who remarry or reach 65 years of age, or to children once they turn 26. The state will reimburse local jurisdictions for this coverage, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council memo.

Firefighters’ families have been covered by such provisions since 2009, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

According to Concerns of Police Survivors, an advocacy organization of and for surviving family members, similar continuing coverage is available for the spouses of state and county officers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota. Michigan covers spouses of state police officers for life, and dependent children until age 18.