HB 156 Fire Fighter Cancer and Workers Comp Bill

     Firefighter cancer is a looming personal catastrophe for each and every fire fighter. Cancer is the most dangerous and unrecognized threat to the health and safety of our nation’s firefighters.

Multiple studies, including the University of Cincinnati (2006) and NIOSH (2013) cancer study, have repeatedly demonstrated credible evidence and biologic creditability for statistically higher rates of multiple types of cancers in firefighters compared to the general American population including:

 Testicular cancer (2.02 times greater risk)

 Multiple myeloma (1.53 times greater risk)

 Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (1.51times greater risk)

 Prostate cancer (1.28 times greater risk)

 Brain cancer (1.31 times greater risk)

 Colon cancer (1.21 times greater risk)

 Leukemia (1.14 times greater risk)

34 States have enacted some type of Cancer Presumption recently Michigan in January of 2015.

HB 156 Info:

1. Cancer coverage is only after 5 years of service and ends 5 years after leaving the service.
2. Covers both Paid and Volunteer Fire Fighters in Kentucky
3. Must be tobacco free for 10 years to be covered
4. Covers only certain cancers : bladder, brain, colon, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney, liver, testicular and cancer associated with lymphatic or hematopoietic cancer.

Workers Comp in HB 156 Facts:

• The Kentucky Fire Commission already pays the Workers Comp claims for all the approximately 20,000 volunteer fire fighters in the state.
• This bill would add the approximately 4,000 paid fire fighters in the state. 
• Thus reducing the costs to cities throughout the state. (The cities would no longer have these Workers Comp costs for fire fighters).
• The Kentucky Fire Commission already has the funds to cover these costs for both the Cancer and the Workers Comp. 

Supporters of HB 156

• Kentucky Professional Fire Fighters
• Kentucky Fire Chiefs Association
• Kentucky Fire Association
• Kentucky League of Cities