Excerpts from fosters.com:
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he intends to sign a bill that passed the house last week to allow firefighter cancer treatment benefits to be funded through worker’s compensation.
Senate Bill 541 comes 28 years after a law was ruled unconstitutional that stated certain cancers are presumed to be work-related for firefighters, leaving firefighters with cancer to pay many of their costs out of pocket.
Bill McQuillen, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire said the bill would satisfy the call from firefighters for coverage funding as firefighters are considered to be at a higher risk of cancer than the general public. The state Supreme Court ruled the presumptive cancer law was unconstitutional in 1990 because the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits state mandates on municipalities without a set funding mechanism.
A representative from McQuillen’s union said the bill could mean more costs for municipalities since worker’s compensation rates would be adjusted. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dan Innis, R-New Castle, said the fact there are so few firefighter cancer cases each year indicates the cost impact on the worker’s compensation system will likely be low.
The bill as introduced would have used a surcharge on insurance policies to fund benefits for firefighters presumed to have gotten cancer from their work. The Senate amended the bill to remove that funding mechanism after insurance companies lobbied against it. The amendment instead established a commission to study options for funding the benefits.
