Firefighters with cancer may get easier benefits access in Arizona

“This is a huge win for firefighters,” Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, told The Arizona Republic. Still, he cautioned that there’s one last hoop to jump through. “We’re certainly not high-fiving right now because we’re still waiting to see what the governor does.”

A bill that would make it easier for Arizona firefighters who get certain cancers to access workers’ compensation benefits is headed to the governor’s desk.

Senate Bill 1451 would remove the requirement that firefighters prove their cancer was caused by toxins they were exposed to on the job in order to get their employer to pay for their treatment.

It also would expand access to workers’ compensation benefits, which pay for medical expenses beyond typical health insurance, to fire investigators and add two new types of cancer to the list of presumptive occupational diseases.

“A huge thank you to the House for voting on my firefighter cancer bill that we’ve been working on for 6 years,” Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, posted on Twitter.

The bill was championed by the state firefighters association, public safety groups, cities across metro Phoenix and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

Similar legislation was introduced last year but didn’t gain approval in the state House before the session ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The House passed the measure on Wednesday on a bipartisan vote of 51-7. It heads to Gov. Doug Ducey now.

“This is a huge win for firefighters,” Boyer told The Arizona Republic. Still, he cautioned that there’s one last hoop to jump through. “We’re certainly not high-fiving right now because we’re still waiting to see what the governor does.”

Boyer said he was hopeful that Ducey will sign the bill and added that the governor told KTAR radio last year that the state needed to close the presumption loophole, and that’s what his bill does.

A governor’s spokesperson declined to comment on the bill’s fate saying the office does not weigh in on legislation.

Easier access to benefits

Firefighters are at a higher risk of getting certain cancers because of the toxins they are exposed to on the job.

Arizona law states that about 20 cancers are presumed to be caused by firefighting. The law enables firefighters who get those occupational cancers to apply for workers’ compensation benefits.

But firefighters across the state often struggle to get workers’ compensation coverage to cover medical bills and lost wages.

Some insurance companies and third-party workers’ compensation administrators in denying claims have pointed to a line in the law that says the firefighter must prove they were exposed to a carcinogen “reasonably related to the cancer” for the disease to be presumed to be caused by the job.

That can be hard to prove, though, as firefighters don’t have a way of tracking exactly what toxins they were exposed to and when. That has made it difficult for firefighters to access needed assistance to pay mounting medical bills.

Boyer’s bill would remove that requirement.

The bill also adds breast and ovarian cancers to the state’s list of occupational cancers presumed to be caused by firefighting.

The latter addition comes after Phoenix Fire Department Chief Kara Kalkbrenner announced in December 2019 that she had breast cancer.

Additional insurer responsibilities

The bill allows insurers to raise their rates to cover anticipated increased costs from firefighter claims.

It’s unclear how much the addition of fire investigators and the two new cancers to the presumptive list would increase claim costs, but a report compiled by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee noted that state and local governments are expected to incur about $37.6 million in annual costs related to firefighter and peace officer workers’ compensation claims.

The amount could be higher if firefighters whose claims were previously denied can access expanded law.

Boyer said in addition to the bill, he has requested that the state budget include language that would divert money to cities, counties and two government associations currently paying to fund the Arizona Department of Revenue to pay firefighter cancer claims.

The state or cities would pay claims to firefighters who are eligible upfront and the money would be used to reimburse the government agencies. If approved, it would provide upwards of $20 million annually for claims benefits.

“I walked into this year knowing that we needed to fix the policy piece, which we did and hopefully the governor will sign it, and now we’re working on the funding part,” he said. “This would give firefighters peace of mind and hopefully cover the bulk of the cases.”

The bill also increases employers’ and insurance companies’ burden to prove that the cancer was not caused by a carcinogen the firefighter was exposed to on the job by requiring that they provide “clear and convincing” evidence rather than a “preponderance” of evidence.

Insurance companies and workers’ compensation pools would be required to report the claim information to the Industrial Commission of Arizona for all cancer-related claims filed by firefighters or fire investigators.

The commission will make that information available to employers, insurers and employees to help with setting compensation rates and to ensure enough funding is available for firefighter claims.

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Changes a long time in the making

The proposed long-awaited.

“It shouldn’t have taken 20 years, but

changes

have

been that’s sometimes how the legislative process works,” said attorney Dennis Kavanaugh, who specializes in workers’ compensation cases and helped write the original firefighter cancer bill in 2001.

Kavanaugh has been on both sides of the issue as chief counsel for the Industrial Commission and serves on the Mesa City Council in addition to being an attorney representing firefighters who have filed cancer claims.

He worked with firefighter associations to examine cancer claims nationally to determine what the most prominent claims were to help craft the original presumption list. Before 2001 it was “virtually impossible” to prove firefighter cancer cases, he said.

In the years that followed, as more research was done about occupational hazards, some cases became easier to prove.

Bladder cancer is associated with exposure to benzene, a carcinogen found at many fire incidents, so those cases were easy to litigate.

But, the relationship between other cancers and the job were harder to prove, he said.

The bill needed to be updated to reflect what’s now known about toxins and risks to firefighters, he said.

“The bill that was passed in 2001 was a major breakthrough, but we’ve learned so much since then,” Kavanaugh said.

Efforts to update the law started about six years ago but opposition behind the scenes stalled previous legislation, Boyer said.

Boyer said reporting requirements and allowing insurers to increase rates helped the bill get through this year.

The bill is “good policy” that balances the concerns of employers, insurers and firefighters, Kavanaugh said.

“It’s a positive solution for cities, fire departments and carriers but, most importantly, for firefighters,” he said.

He said he hopes it’ll make it easier for claims to move through the process in a timely manner and decrease chances of litigation.