Public safety retirees in Arizona can access broader cancer insurance benefits through a new state law clarifying eligibility.
Eligible retirees include former firefighters, law enforcement officers and corrections officers. The legislation passed in the spring, but the changes were effective Dec. 31, 2025.
The law reaffirms a policy ensuring retiree eligibility for five months of coverage per year of service if they already received benefits or were diagnosed within the permitted post-retirement window. However, the law also adds that those with expiring eligibility can get coverage if they pay the premium cost “equal to the amount paid by the employer for each employee.” Retirees who never qualified must pay an “actuarially determined premium.”
Retirees have until Jan. 1, 2027, to opt in if they were initially excluded.
