Expanded cancer coverage for Iowa firefighters, police and others signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds

Jun. 6—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

DES MOINES — Firefighters and emergency responders have enough to worry about, Iowa Sen. Scott Webster said. Whether cancer treatment will be covered by their insurance, he said, should not be one of them.

All forms of cancer will be covered by firefighters' disability insurance coverage — rather than only the 14 forms previously covered — under legislation signed into law Friday by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Dozens of firefighters watched as Reynolds signed the bill into law during a public ceremony Friday in downtown Des Moines.

Under the new law, all forms of cancer will be included in disability and death benefits to Iowa firefighters, city, county and state police officers, and other first responders. Workers will pay slightly more into the state retirement systems that funds the coverage to help share any added costs that otherwise would fall on local governments.

Three Iowa firefighters who have died of cancer — Brian Stoaks, Phillip Mike Broderick and Malcolm Cortner — were remembered with plaques on display for the ceremony.

"Through all this, I think we got to see firefighters and police officers work together to try to make their career and their job a little bit less stressful," Webster said during the bill-signing ceremony. "Because what they have to put up with and what their spouses have to put up with is very hard."

A 2010 report published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is an arm of the World Health Organization, said there is sufficient evidence to suggest that several exposures related to firefighting can cause different types of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

The legislation, House File 969, passed the Iowa Legislature with near-unanimous approval. Sen. Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, was the lone dissenting vote in either chamber. Schultz in the past has expressed reservations with the legislation's potential for added costs to taxpayers.

The new law could increase the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa's unfunded liability by a projected $552,000, according to fiscal analysts in the state's nonpartisan Iowa Legislative Services Agency.

Under the new law, state workers who contribute to multiple state retirement programs will increase their contribution rate by 0.125 percent.

Reynolds said the legislation is important to ensure the state is taking care of individuals who are "often running toward danger while the rest of us seek safety," including when hazardous materials are involved.

She called the new law "a promise that Iowa stands behind those who serve not just when the sirens sound, but in the days, months and years that follow."

"They do it without hesitation, and we know the risks they face don't end when the emergency is resolved," Reynolds said. "Their selflessness is inspiring, and it deserves our greatest and deepest gratitude.

"And this means thanking first responders for their service, but it also means ensuring that they receive the care that they deserve and the care that they've earned through years of selfless sacrifice to others. The long-term health effects of exposure, especially the elevated risk of cancer, are real. And this bill reflects that reality."

Ryan Hanghian, president of the Iowa Professional Firefighters Association and a Davenport firefighter since 2007, said the new law will have "significant impacts" on Iowa firefighters now and in the future.

"It's not just our membership, but it's their families as well," Hanghian said.

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