Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Corrado
SYNOPSIS
Mandates periodic cancer screening examinations for firefighters enrolled in SHBP.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on January 6, 2022, with amendments.
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, 20231.