Sec. 22. (a) This section applies after December 31, 2017, to a police reserve officer who is injured or contracts an illness in the course of or as the result of performing duties as a police reserve officer.

     (b) A unit shall furnish without charge to a police reserve officer the physician, surgical, hospital, and nursing services and supplies the physician or surgeon in charge determines are necessary, including:

(1) medical and surgical care;

(2) medicines and laboratory, curative, and palliative agents and means;

(3) x-ray, diagnostic, and therapeutic service, including during a recovery period; and

(4) hospital and special nursing care, if the physician or surgeon in charge considers it necessary for proper recovery.

     (c) A unit that has paid for the care of a police reserve officer under subsection (b) has a cause of action for reimbursement of the amount paid under subsection (b) against any third party against whom the police reserve officer has a cause of action for an injury sustained because of, or an illness caused by, the third party. The unit’s cause of action is in addition to, and not in lieu of, a cause of action of the police reserve officer against the third party.

     (d) A unit’s obligation under this section supersedes any obligations that another medical insurance carrier has to pay the police reserve officer’s expenses.

     (e) In addition to purchasing policies of group insurance or establishing a plan of self-insurance under section 20(m) of this chapter, a unit may meet its obligation under this section by covering police reserve officers under the medical treatment and burial expense provisions of the worker’s compensation law (IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6) and the worker’s occupational diseases law (IC 22-3-7). If compensability of the injury is an issue, the administrative procedures of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 and IC 22-3-7 shall be used to determine the issue.

As added by P.L.180-2017, SEC.5.