Committee endorses trust fund to bridge treatment gap for firefighters diagnosed with occupational cancers

SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Standing Committee on Friday favorably recommended the second substitute for House Bill 416, which would create a cancer benefit trust to help firefighters begin treatment while workers' compensation claims are processed.

Representative Cheshire, the bill sponsor, said last year’s reforms expanded screening and presumptions for occupational cancers but revealed a gap between detection and receipt of workers' compensation benefits. "This bill . . . will provide coverage for that gap," the sponsor said, explaining the bill establishes a trustee board within the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy to manage the fund and study distribution methods.

Chief Clint Smith of the Draper City Fire Department, representing the Utah State Fire Chiefs Association, told the committee screenings have turned up cancer in about 10 to 12 percent of firefighters screened and urged support: "This will help provide some safety nets for them to begin that treatment process without putting their financial well-being and that of their families in peril while they process that workers' comp claim." Several firefighter and related groups testified in favor, describing the measure as the next step following prior presumptive-cancer and screening legislation.

Witnesses and senators asked how the trust will interact with workers' compensation — whether it will reimburse, supplement, or otherwise coordinate with WC benefits. The sponsor acknowledged the bill directs the board to study coordination issues (line 149 of the bill) and return recommendations to the Legislature; the committee did not finalize distribution mechanics in this hearing.

Steven Hanson of the Utah Local Governments Trust described the trust as complementary to workers' compensation and said his agency could administer payments quickly if selected by the committee. Jack Tidrow of the Professional Firefighters of Utah and other witnesses described the multi-year effort behind the policy changes and urged passage. Jeremy Craft, who described his own occupational-cancer diagnosis, asked lawmakers to expedite help for firefighters who lack savings to start treatment.

Senator Vickers moved to favorably recommend the second substitute; the committee recorded the motion as approved. The sponsor and supporters said they expect to return with more detailed implementation guidance in a subsequent year after the board studies coordination with workers' compensation.

Next steps: If enacted, the trustee board will study and recommend whether benefits are intended to reimburse workers' compensation, supplement it, or operate in another fashion; distribution mechanics and precise payout levels will be set in future work and by the trustee board.