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C.52:14-17.29ii
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Note
An Act mandating access to cancer screenings for firefighters 1[through health care benefits plan or program provided by the public employer, and supplementing Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.] enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program and supplementing P.L.1961, c. 49.1
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A firefighter employed as a full-time paid employee of a fire department or unit of this State or a political subdivision of this State shall be provided a cancer screening examination conducted by a physician not less than three years after the start of the firefighter’s employment as a firefighter and every three years thereafter during the course of the firefighter’s employment. The examination shall include screening for, at a minimum and when applicable, the following cancers:
(1) colon;
(2) lung;
(3) bladder;
(4) oral;
(5) thyroid;
(6) skin;
(7) blood;
(8) breast;
(9) cervical
(10) testicular; and
(11) prostate.
b. 1[All costs associated with screenings provided under this section shall be borne by the firefighter’s health care benefits plan or program provided by the firefighter’s employer, including a plan or program through the State Health Benefits Program, an insurance fund, joint insurance fund, or in any other manner. No co-payment, deductible, coinsurance, or any out-of-pocket expense shall be required for such examinations.] Subsection a. of this section shall apply only to a firefighter enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program as occupational coverage. For the purpose of this section, employment as a full-time paid employee of a fire department or unit of this State or a political subdivision of this State shall be a pre-existing condition.1
2. This act shall take effect 1[immediately] January 1, 2023.1
Mandates periodic cancer screening examinations for firefighters enrolled in SHBP.