SB 17-214 Summary

• Establishes a voluntary firefighter cancer benefits program allowing employers to participate in a multiple employer health trust and provide supplemental income and cost reimbursement to firefighters diagnosed with covered cancers.

• Covered cancers include those of the brain, skin, digestive system, hematological system, genitourinary system, or other types defined by the trust, with benefit amounts ranging from $100 to $225,000 based on cancer award level.

• Eligible participants include full-time firefighters with 5+ years continuous employment, volunteer firefighters with 10+ years of active service, and part-time firefighters with 10+ years of service, all diagnosed within 10 years of employment cessation.

• Benefits are reduced by 25 percent if the firefighter used tobacco within 5 years before diagnosis and must be offset by any workers' compensation payments received.

• Employers participating in the program are excluded from the rebuttable presumption for occupational disease coverage under existing firefighter cancer law, reducing workers' compensation insurance costs.