Beacon Hill moves toward free cancer screenings for firefighters. Boston's council has fought over paying for them
Both chambers have passed versions of a bill requiring insurance coverage for firefighter cancer screenings. In Boston, the fire department lost a grant that paid for screenings, and budget amendments to replace it failed.
Occupational cancer is the most common cause of line-of-duty death for firefighters, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters, as cited by the Dorchester Reporter. A bill that would guarantee Massachusetts firefighters regular cancer screenings is close to final passage at the State House, and it touches a fight Boston's City Council has had all year.
On Oct. 15 the state Senate passed the bill by voice vote, the Dorchester Reporter reported on Wednesday. The House unanimously passed its own version on July 31. The two chambers must agree on one text before it goes to Gov. Maura Healey.
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The bill would require health insurance offered by a firefighter's public employer to cover a cancer screening every three years, according to the Reporter. It would apply to full-time paid firefighters employed by the state, cities and towns, and fire and water districts. Screenings would cover colon, lung, bladder, oral, thyroid, skin, blood, breast, cervical, testicular and prostate cancers. Rich MacKinnon Jr., president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, called the Senate vote "a momentous step," the paper reported.
What our records show
Boston firefighters have had screenings through a grant, and this year the city's council argued over what happens without it.
- March 4. City Councilor Henry Santana filed an order for a hearing on firefighters' occupational cancer risk and the programs the city offers or could offer (docket 0472). It is still in the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee.
- March 31. At that committee's hearing on fire department grants (docket 0400), the department's grants manager said a recently expired award let it screen 587 members by dermatologists, leading to 94 referrals for further treatment and three possible melanoma cases, and paid for more than 700 other screenings (watch at 12:38).
- May 13. In a report to the full council on that week's budget hearings, the council was told the department was losing a $1.4 million state grant for cancer screening (watch at 1:16:27).
- May 20. City Councilor Erin Murphy said the grant, which she put at $1.2 million, also paid for health screenings, mental health supports and wellness programs (watch at 2:14:33). She said $150,000 had been found for cancer screenings but $980,000 was still missing, and withdrew her emergency hearing order (docket 1055) to pursue budget amendments instead (2:15:54).
- June 10. During budget votes, Murphy said Dana-Farber had given $150,000 to cover cancer screenings that year (watch at 5:57:04). City Councilor Ed Flynn proposed moving $500,000 from the Office of Neighborhood Services to the fire department for mental health, wellness and cancer screening (5:51:41). It failed 2-10, with Flynn and Murphy voting yes (6:04:43). A separate amendment from City Councilor Miniard Culpepper to put $200,000 toward turnout gear free of PFAS chemicals failed 5-7 (6:30:52).
- Sept. 30. Murphy said outside sources had been found for fire cancer screenings but that the city should put screenings for all first responders in its budget (watch at 50:24).
- Oct. 7. Murphy's order for a hearing on city funding for first responders' health screenings (docket 1917) went to the Ways and Means Committee with 12 sponsors. Culpepper's order on cancer-causing chemicals in turnout gear (docket 1057) has been in committee since May 20.
Why it matters locally
If the state bill becomes law, Boston, as the employer, would have to make sure its firefighters' health plans cover the screenings. The Reporter's account does not estimate the cost to cities. The Boston dollar figures above come from what councilors said in debate, and they did not always match.
What's next
House and Senate negotiators need to settle on a final bill. In Boston, Murphy's hearing order waits in Ways and Means, and the fiscal 2028 budget, where councilors said they would raise screening money again, comes before the council in the spring.