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A4976
ASSEMBLY, No. 4976
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 7, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman� MICHAEL VENEZIA
District 34 (Essex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Scharfenberger and Assemblywoman Fantasia
SYNOPSIS
���� Mandates access to periodic cancer screening
examinations for volunteer firefighters.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
mandating
access to periodic cancer screening examinations for volunteer firefighters,
and supplementing Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
����� 1.�� a.�
A volunteer firefighter serving in this State shall be allowed to be reimbursed
for a cancer screening examination conducted by a physician, which would not
otherwise be covered by the volunteer firefighter�s health insurance, not less
than five years after the start of service as volunteer firefighter and every
three years thereafter during the course of the firefighter's volunteer
service.� 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 to a volunteer firefighter as occupational
coverage.� For the purpose of this subsection, serving as a volunteer
firefighter shall be a pre-existing condition.
����� c.�� Notwithstanding
the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, beginning
January 1, 2023 and for each year thereafter, a volunteer firefighter shall be
eligible for reimbursement from the State for the cost of any examination provided
pursuant to this section; provided, however, at no time shall the cost being
reimbursed to the volunteer firefighter for the full examination required under
subsection a. of this section exceed $1,250 per three-year period, which shall
be accordingly adjusted to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index compiled
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Medical Care.
����� No
copayment, deductible, coinsurance, or out-of-pocket expense shall be required
for such examinations.
����� A
volunteer firefighter shall provide adequate records, consistent with guidance
developed by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the
Department of Community Affairs, to facilitate the reimbursement authorized
pursuant to this subsection.
����� For
the purpose of this subsection, serving as a volunteer firefighter shall be a
pre-existing condition.� There shall be an appropriation from the State General
Fund in each annual appropriations act of such funds as necessary for the
purposes of this section.� The Director of the Division of Local Government
Services in the Department of Community Affairs shall annually submit a request
for an appropriation in an amount necessary to provide the reimbursements
required pursuant to this section.
���� 2.��� This
act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill mandates access to
periodic cancer screening examinations for volunteer firefighters.� The bill
specifies that there should be no out-of-pocket cost to the volunteer
firefighter.� The bill also specifies that the State is to reimburse a volunteer
firefighter for the full examination up to $1,250 per three-year period, which
is to be annually adjusted according to inflation.� The bill establishes an
occupational existing condition that makes being a volunteer firefighter a
condition for reimbursement of costs associated with cancer screening
examinations.