Amended House Bill 184 Summary

• Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund board must adopt minimum medical testing standards for prospective members including evaluation for heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease.

• Employers must submit physician examination reports within 60 days of a new member joining the fund or face penalties; the board may request prior examination records from members who joined before standards took effect.

• Board may grant disability benefits based on application review and medical documentation alone, or may require medical examinations and vocational evaluations conducted by physicians, advanced practice registered nurses, or physician assistants (with physician approval required for nurse/assistant reports).

• Firefighters with at least six years of hazardous duty who develop cancer are presumed to have incurred it during job performance if exposed to carcinogens classified as group 1 or 2A by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, with limited rebuttable exceptions.

• Advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants conducting medical examinations must work within their scope of practice under Ohio law and not exceed their training; the board must submit relevant data to the workers' compensation administrator for required reporting.