A 8755: Provides cancer screening and treatment for retired volunteer firefighters; defines retired volunteer firefighters; retroactively applies to retired volunteer firefighters.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8755 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY June 2, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Insurance AN ACT to amend the insurance law, in relation to providing cancer screening and treatment for retired volunteer firefighters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 3216 of the insurance law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph 41 to read as follows: 3 (41) (A) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or simi- 4 lar comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for comprehensive 5 annual medical exams for insured individuals who are retired volunteer 6 firefighters. Such comprehensive annual exam shall include cancer 7 screening, including, digital rectal exam for individuals with pros- 8 tate-specific antigen, cervical exam with Pap test, breast exam, respi- 9 rator fit test, colonoscopies beginning at forty-five years of age or 10 earlier depending on family history, mammograms beginning at age forty 11 or earlier depending on family history, and low dose computed tomography 12 depending on age, smoking history, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), 13 family history of lung cancer, obstructive lung disease and history of 14 pneumonia. 15 (B) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or similar 16 comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for cancer treatment 17 for retired volunteer firefighters to include the costs of diagnosis, 18 cure, mitigation, treatment and prevention of cancer. 19 (C) For the purposes of this paragraph, "retired volunteer firefight- 20 er" shall mean a person who has been approved by the authorities in 21 control of a duly organized volunteer fire company or volunteer fire 22 department as an active volunteer firefighter of such fire company or 23 department and who is faithfully and actually performing service in the 24 protection of life and property from fire or other emergency, accident 25 or calamity in connection with which the services of such fire company EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11840-01-5 
 A. 8755 2 1 or fire department are required and has retired with a minimum of twen- 2 ty-five years of service and shall: 3 (i) be calculated as the cumulative total of all years served by a 4 volunteer firefighter, regardless of whether that service was rendered 5 at a single station or across multiple stations; 6 (ii) include the years of service accumulated by current volunteers 7 upon the effective date of this paragraph; and 8 (iii) apply retroactively to retired volunteer firefighters upon the 9 effective date of this paragraph. 10 § 2. Subsection (l) of section 3221 of the insurance law is amended by 11 adding a new paragraph 23 to read as follows: 12 (23) (A) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or simi- 13 lar comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for comprehensive 14 annual medical exams for insured individuals who are retired volunteer 15 firefighters. Such comprehensive annual exam shall include cancer 16 screening, including, digital rectal exam for individuals with pros- 17 tate-specific antigen, cervical exam with Pap test, breast exam, respi- 18 rator fit test, colonoscopies beginning at forty-five years of age or 19 earlier depending on family history, mammograms beginning at age forty 20 or earlier depending on family history, and low dose computed tomography 21 depending on age, smoking history, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), 22 family history of lung cancer, obstructive lung disease and history of 23 pneumonia. 24 (B) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or similar 25 comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for cancer treatment 26 for retired volunteer firefighters to include the costs of diagnosis, 27 cure, mitigation, treatment and prevention of cancer. 28 (C) For the purposes of this paragraph, "retired volunteer firefight- 29 er" shall mean a person who has been approved by the authorities in 30 control of a duly organized volunteer fire company or volunteer fire 31 department as an active volunteer firefighter of such fire company or 32 department and who is faithfully and actually performing service in the 33 protection of life and property from fire or other emergency, accident 34 or calamity in connection with which the services of such fire company 35 or fire department are required and has retired with a minimum of twen- 36 ty-five years of service and shall: 37 (i) be calculated as the cumulative total of all years served by a 38 volunteer firefighter, regardless of whether that service was rendered 39 at a single station or across multiple stations; 40 (ii) include the years of service accumulated by current volunteers 41 upon the effective date of this paragraph; and 42 (iii) apply retroactively to retired volunteer firefighters upon the 43 effective date of this paragraph. 44 § 3. Section 4303 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new 45 subsection (l-3) to read as follows: 46 (l-3) (A) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or simi- 47 lar comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for comprehensive 48 annual medical exams for insured individuals who are retired volunteer 49 firefighters. Such comprehensive annual exam shall include cancer 50 screening, including, digital rectal exam for individuals with pros- 51 tate-specific antigen, cervical exam with Pap test, breast exam, respi- 52 rator fit test, colonoscopies beginning at forty-five years of age or 53 earlier depending on family history, mammograms beginning at age forty 54 or earlier depending on family history, and low dose computed tomography 55 depending on age, smoking history, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), 
 A. 8755 3 1 family history of lung cancer, obstructive lung disease and history of 2 pneumonia. 3 (B) Every policy which provides medical, major medical, or similar 4 comprehensive-type coverage shall provide coverage for cancer treatment 5 for retired volunteer firefighters to include the costs of diagnosis, 6 cure, mitigation, treatment and prevention of cancer. 7 (C) For the purposes of this subsection, "retired volunteer firefight- 8 er" shall mean a person who has been approved by the authorities in 9 control of a duly organized volunteer fire company or volunteer fire 10 department as an active volunteer firefighter of such fire company or 11 department and who is faithfully and actually performing service in the 12 protection of life and property from fire or other emergency, accident 13 or calamity in connection with which the services of such fire company 14 or fire department are required and has retired with a minimum of twen- 15 ty-five years of service and shall: 16 (i) be calculated as the cumulative total of all years served by a 17 volunteer firefighter, regardless of whether that service was rendered 18 at a single station or across multiple stations; 19 (ii) include the years of service accumulated by current volunteers 20 upon the effective date of this subsection; and 21 (iii) apply retroactively to retired volunteer firefighters upon the 22 effective date of this subsection. 23 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to poli- 24 cies and contracts issued, renewed, modified, altered or amended on and 25 after such date.