AUSTIN, Texas — A proposed Texas law, House Bill 198, would mandate free cancer screenings for firefighters statewide.
Named after Flower Mound firefighter Wade Cannon, who recently died from cancer, the bill requires screenings for the colon, prostate, lungs and brain. On March 10, a Texas House subcommittee reviewed the legislation.
Free screenings would begin in a firefighter’s fifth year of employment and recur every three years thereafter, FOX 7 Austin reported.
State Rep. Ben Bumgarner filed the bill in November, his second attempt after a previous effort failed in the Senate two years ago, according to FOX7.
“It was a timing issue. It was. It was heard later on in the session. And this time around we had a low bill number,” Bumgarner said. “And it’s going to be one of the first Bills heard over in the Senate from the House side. So, I feel really good about it.”
From 2002 to 2019, cancer accounted for 66% of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters. CDC and NIOSH research found firefighters face a 9% higher cancer risk and a 14% greater likelihood of dying from it than the general U.S. population.
The committee learned Monday that testing costs around $500, while State Rep. Sheryl Cole pointed out that the bill lacks state funding.
Chief Roger Esparza of El Paso County Emergency Services District 2 expressed concern over local funding for the screenings.
“I’m a small ESD, West Texas, lowest taxing entities. Right now, there’s 26 bills that are going to target the way we do ad valorem taxing,” Esparza said. “And I think it’s one of those things that I think it’s a great idea. Phenomenal. I think we need it, but I’m concerned of how I’m going to pay for that.”
Austin covers annual wellness physicals, which have detected medical conditions, according to Bob Nicks of the Austin Firefighters Association.
Similar early screening laws have been proposed in Louisiana and Connecticut, while New Hampshire passed one last year with $5 million in funding. A federal screening bill has also been introduced in Congress.
