An Act mandating access to cancer screenings for firefighters enrolled in the State Health Benefits Program and supplementing P.L.1961, c.49.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
C.52:14-17.29ii Full-time firefighters to be screened for cancer.
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. 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.
2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
Approved January 18, 2022.