Effective – 28 Aug 2021
320.400. Cancer benefits pool — definitions — creation, employer contributions — benefits, amount — other payments, when — grants — effect on worker’s compensation determinations. — 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
(1) “Covered individual”, a firefighter who:
(a) Is a paid employee or is a volunteer firefighter as defined in section 320.333;
(b) Has been assigned to at least five years of hazardous duty as a firefighter;
(c) Was exposed to an agent classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or its successor organization, as a group 1 or 2A carcinogen, or classified as a cancer-causing agent by the American Cancer Society, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or the United States National Cancer Institute;
(d) Was last assigned to hazardous duty as a firefighter within the previous fifteen years; and
(e) Is not seventy years of age or older at the time of the diagnosis of cancer;
(2) “Dependent”, the same meaning as in section 287.240;
(3) “Employer”, any political subdivision of the state;
(4) “Voluntary firefighter cancer benefits pool” or “pool”, an entity described in section 537.620 that is established for the purposes of this section.
2. (1) Three or more employers may create a voluntary firefighter cancer benefits pool for the purpose of this section. An employer may make contributions into the voluntary firefighter cancer benefits pool established for the purpose of this section. The contribution levels and award levels shall be set by the board of trustees of the pool.
(2) For an employer that chooses to make contributions into the voluntary firefighter cancer benefits pool, the pool shall provide the minimum benefits specified by the board of trustees of the pool to covered individuals, based on the award level of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, after the employer becomes a participant.
(3) Benefit levels shall be established by the board of trustees of the pool based on the category and stage of the cancer.
(4) In addition to an award pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection:
(a) A payment may be made from the pool to a covered individual for the actual award, up to twenty-five thousand dollars, for rehabilitative or vocational training employment services and educational training relating to the cancer diagnosis;
(b) A payment may be made to covered individual of up to ten thousand dollars if the covered individual incurs cosmetic disfigurement costs resulting from cancer.
(5) If the cancer is diagnosed as terminal cancer, the covered individual may receive a lump-sum payment of twenty-five thousand dollars as an accelerated payment toward the benefits due based on the benefit levels established pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(6) The covered individual may receive additional awards if the cancer increases in award level, but the amount of any benefit paid earlier for the same cancer may be subtracted from the new award.
(7) If a covered individual dies while owed benefits pursuant to this section, the benefits shall be paid to the dependent or domestic partner, if any, at the time of death. If there is no dependent or domestic partner, the obligation of the pool to pay benefits shall cease.
(8) If a covered individual returns to the same position of employment after a cancer diagnosis, the covered individual may receive benefits in this section for any subsequent new type of covered cancer diagnosis.
(9) The benefits payable pursuant to this section shall be reduced by twenty-five percent if a covered individual used a tobacco product within the five years immediately preceding the cancer diagnosis.
(10) A claim for benefits from the pool shall be filed no later than two years after the diagnosis of the cancer. The claim for each type of cancer needs to be filed only once to allow the pool to increase the award level pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(11) For purposes of all other employment policies and benefits that are not workers’ compensation benefits payable under chapter 287, health insurance, and any benefits paid pursuant to chapter 208, a covered individual’s cancer diagnosis shall be treated as an on-the-job injury or illness.
3. The board of trustees of the pool may:
(1) Create a program description to further define or modify the benefits of this section;
(2) Modify the contribution rates, benefit levels, including the maximum amount, consistent with subdivision (1) of this subsection, and structure of the benefits based on actuarial recommendations and with input from a committee of the pool; and
(3) Set a maximum amount of benefits that may be paid to a covered individual for each cancer diagnosis.
4. The board of trustees of the pool shall be considered a public governmental body and shall be subject to all of the provisions of chapter 610.
5. A pool may accept or apply for any grants or donations from any private or public source.
*6. (1) Any pool may apply to the state fire marshal for a grant for the purpose of establishing a voluntary firefighter cancer benefits pool. The state fire marshal shall disburse grants to the pool upon receipt of the application.
(2) The state fire marshal may grant money disbursed under section 287.245 to be used for the purpose of setting up a pool.
(3) This subsection shall expire on June 30, 2023.
7. (1) This subsection shall not affect any determination as to whether a covered individual’s cancer arose out of and in the course of employment and is a compensable injury pursuant to chapter 287. Receipt of benefits from the pool under this section shall not be considered competent evidence or proof by itself of a compensable injury under chapter 287.
(2) Should it be determined that a covered individual’s cancer arose out of and in the course of employment and is a compensable injury under chapter 287, the compensation and death benefit provided under chapter 287 shall be reduced one hundred percent by any benefits received from the pool under this section.
(3) The employer in any claim made pursuant to chapter 287 shall be subrogated to the right of the employee or to the dependent or domestic partner to receive benefits from the pool and such employer may recover any amounts which such employee or the dependent or domestic partner would have been entitled to recover from the pool under this section. Any receipt of benefits from the pool under this section shall be treated as an advance payment by the employer, on account of any future installments of benefits payable pursuant to chapter 287.
——–
(L. 2021 S.B. 45)
*Subsection 6 expires 6-30-23.