Firefighter Matthew O’Reilly, during a recent news conference, details the hurdles he had to overcome to get his workers’ compensation insurer to cover his cancer because of a missing comma in current law.
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
“As firefighters, we know that the job comes with risks,” he said.
“But if one of those risks gets you sick because of the job, we should not be abandoned; we should not have to prove over and over against the law of what the law means and what it’s intended to mean.
O’Reilly eventually did get his coverage. But what’s in SB 1215 should make that unnecessary for others who find themselves in the same position.
Burned by the issue of punctuation, Payne, a Peoria Republican, recrafted the law so the list of presumptively covered conditions is no longer in a single sentence. Now, each of the 23 conditions has its own numbered paragraph.
“SB 1215 matters because it helps ensure the next firefighter does not have to go through what I went through,” O’Reilly said.
“It means firefighters diagnosed with a covered job-related cancer can focus on treatment, recovery, and family instead of fighting insurance companies,” he said at a recent ceremonial signing of the bill by Gov. Katie Hobbs.
“This is not just about punctuation,” said O’Reilly. “It’s about people.”
Dan Freiberg, president of the 9,000-member Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona, said the legislation sends an important message.
“Arizona will not allow insurance companies to exploit ambiguity in the law at the expense of sick firefighters,” he said.
Firefighters also gained another change in law designed to protect their health and prevent them from becoming ill in the first place.
HB 2641 which also was signed prohibits the use of PFAS — a category known as “forever chemicals” — in the foam used by firefighters to put out blazes.