Cancer Insurance Program

The PSPRS Cancer Insurance Program provides active and eligible retired corrections officers with payments for cancer diagnoses and reimbursements for treatment-related expenses. Each year, the program distributes approximately $1.8 million in claim payments and reimbursements.
The Cancer Insurance Program is funded through annual premium payments made by members working for participating employers and investment returns generated by a separately maintained trust. The program is governed by the PSPRS Board of Trustees, which maintains both a plan document and a funding policy.

 

Learn more about:

ELIGIBILITY

MEMBER

CORP

Active members:

Only those who elect to receive and pay for coverage under an employer that has opted into the cancer insurance plan

Retired members: (extended eligibility)

Who elected for coverage as active members are provided with 5 months of coverage for every year of credited service

Retired members who have complete their extended eligibility

Who had a diagnosis of cancer PRIOR to the end date of their extended eligibility coverage period, may elect to continue coverage and pay the annual premium

 

CORP EMPLOYERS OPTED IN

Admin Office of the Court
City of Avondale
Cochise County
Coconino County
Department of Corrections
Department of Juvenile Corrections
Department of Public Safety
Gila County
Graham Country

Greenlee County
Maricopa County
Mohave County
Navajo County
Oro Valley
Pinal County
Town of Marana
Yuma County

 

PREMIUMS

Cancer Insurance Program

CORP Employers

Participation:

Optional to Employers**

Fees Paid by:

Member

Annual Premium*:

$50

Participants:

Active, DROP and retired members (if eligible)

* Premiums are set annually by the Board of Trustees per statute (A.R.S. 38-641), not to exceed $180 per year, and are invested by PSPRS in a trust used to pay members claims. Members have a 24-month period to submit claims.
** Each fiscal year, CORP employers have the option to elect to participate in the Cancer Insurance Policy Program (CIP) and agree to the terms of the plan. CORP employers must provide new hires with the opt-in form within 30 days.

BENEFITS

Each year, the Cancer Insurance Program (CIP) provides eligible active members and retirees with benefits and/or reimbursements for out-of-pocket costs for the following:

  • Initial diagnosis of cancer, including skin cancer
  • Subsequent diagnosis of cancer (non-skin)
  • Intensive care treatment
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Experimental treatments
  • Imaging, radiation and chemotherapy
  • Genomic and genetic testing
  • Hospital confinement
  • Skilled nursing facilities
  • Home hospice care
  • Death

 

Benefits vary by diagnosis and reoccurrence. Please see table for full details:

BENEFITS

LIMITS & AMOUNTS

Overall lifetime maximum benefit under plan $100,000
Diagnosis of cancer First cancer diagnosis, not skin cancer $15,000
Second and subsequent new cancer diagnosis Not skin cancer $7,500
Skin cancer diagnosis For each positive diagnosis, up to seven (7) $500
  Lifetime maximum amount for this benefit $3,500
Imaging (including scans), radiation and chemotherapy Lifetime maximum amount for this benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $10,000
Pharmacy Benefit subject to overall lifetime maximum  
Genomic and genetic testing Maximum benefit amount; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $15,000
Experimental treatment Maximum benefit amount; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $5,000
Hospital confinement Daily benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $200
Cancer intensive care Daily benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $500
Skilled nursing facility Daily benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $40
Home hospice care Daily benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $50
Hospice care Daily benefit; Reimbursement not to exceed actual incurred expenses $180
Death Not subject to the lifetime maximum benefit $10,000

  

APPLY FOR BENEFITS

Cancer Insurance Program

Forms to use

First claim:

Complete and submit the Public Safety/CORP Cancer Insurance Policy Program INITIAL Claim Form PACKET. NOTE: Each skin cancer claim should use this packet as well even if it is not your first skin cancer diagnosis

Subsequent claims:

Complete and submit the Public Safety/CORP Cancer Insurance Combined-Supplemental and Pharmacy Benefits claim form.

Additional forms:

All current forms are available on our Members Forms & Resources, Retired Members Forms & Resources, and Employer Forms & Resources pages. (In the forms and resources page, select Cancer Insurance and HIPAA category for the cancer insurance forms).

 

PAYMENT PROCESS

Once your claim is approved with a diagnosis of cancer or skin cancer:

For Active or Retired CORP Members:

  • All claims will be paid directly to you from our office

COVERAGE IN RETIREMENT

  • If you are an eligible retired member, you will receive 5 months continued CIP eligibility for every year of credited service at no cost to you. Your credited service will include Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) if you were enrolled on September 2019 or later.
  • If you have no cancer diagnosis at the end of the no cost (extended eligibility) timeframe, you may NOT continue this insurance
  • If you are retired, with PRIOR cancer diagnoses, you CAN continue coverage past the no cost period IF you pay the annual premium in July/August.

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) OVERVIEW

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was enacted to expand health coverage by improving the portability and continuity of health insurance coverage. Additionally, The United States Department of Health and Human Services established the HIPAA Privacy Regulation which took effect on April 14, 2003. The Privacy Rule, as it is commonly referred, provides for the protection and privacy of individually identifiable health information and guards against the misuse of this information. The Privacy Rule sets forth administrative requirements, privacy and security requirements, and individual rights regarding the use and disclosure of protected health information. The Privacy Rule also establishes penalties for the misuse or disclosure of individually identifiable protected health information.

As administrators of the Public Safety/CORP Cancer Insurance Program, which is a Group Health Plan, PSPRS is considered a covered entity and must adhere to the requirements outlined in HIPAA. As part of your rights under HIPAA, the PSPRS Notice of Privacy Practices provides a general description of the privacy practices of the Public Safety/CORP Cancer Insurance Program outlining when and in what circumstances protected health information (PHI) will be used, or disclosed, in addition to informing Cancer Insurance Program participants of their rights. As well as, there are several forms that may be used to view, obtain and alter your PHI, which all forms are located in the Forms & Resources section under Cancer Insurance & HIPAA Forms.

HIPAA regulations require the PSPRS Administration to assign a HIPAA Privacy Officer and the PSPRS Compliance Officer is the Agency's HIPAA Privacy Officer. Questions, concerns, and complaints about HIPAA Privacy matters may be sent to the following address:

PSPRS Administration
Attention: HIPAA Privacy Officer
3010 E. Camelback Road, Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85016