By Bob Katzen
The Senate approved, on a voice vote without a roll call, a bill mandating free insurance coverage of cancer screenings for firefighters. The firefighters would not be subject to co-payment, deductible, coinsurance or any out-of-pocket expenses. The House approved a different version of the measure in July and the Senate version now goes to the House for consideration.
The screenings would cover colon cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, oral cancer, thyroid cancer, skin cancer, blood cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. The measure provides that the first screening would be conducted no later than three years after the firefighter starts the job, with subsequent screenings occurring every three years.
“Firefighters deal with it all—repeated exposure to smoke, fumes and toxic PFAS, ‘forever chemicals,’ in their turnout gear—so they can save lives and protect all of us Massachusetts residents,” said Senate Ways and Means chair Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) who authored this redraft of a version that the House approved in July. “They deserve to know that we have their backs. The passage of this bill today is a vitally important step forward to protect firefighters’ health, safety and dignity. We got here by building on the dedicated advocacy of first responders and families who experienced the tragic toll of line-of-duty illness. There is no question that this legislation will save lives.”
Supporters said that firefighters are more likely to get cancer than the general public and argued that these heroes need and must have early and regular access to life-saving cancer screenings. They noted that the Occupational Cancer Research Centre attributes higher rates of sickness to greater exposure to cancer-causing hazards through inhalation of smoke, combustion by-productions and PFAS used in fire protection gear.
Rep. John Lawn (D-Watertown), the House chair of the Committee on Health Care Financing and the sponsor of the original House version of the bill, did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him why he sponsored the original measure and how he feels about the Senate version.