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A02464 Summary:

BILL NOA02464
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORStern
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §205-ccc, Gen Muni L
 
Provides certified volunteer emergency medical technicians enhanced cancer disability benefits and death benefits for certain cancers.
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A02464 Actions:

BILL NOA02464
 
01/17/2025referred to local governments
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A02464 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2464
 
SPONSOR: Stern
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to providing volunteer emergency medical technician enhanced cancer disability bene- fits   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To provide eligible volunteer emergency medical technicians who develop certain forms of cancer with enhanced disability benefits.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1: Amends the general municipal law by adding a new section 205-ccc. Section 2: Sets the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Chapter 334 of the Laws of 2017 created the "New York State Volunteer Firefighter Gap Coverage Cancer Disability Benefits Act" to provide volunteer .firefighters who contract certain forms of cancer with enhanced disability benefits. That law was intended to address an increased rate of cancer in firefighters due to a high level of exposure to carcinogens as a result of their job responsibilities. Unfortunately, Chapter 334 of the Laws of 2017 did not extend the same enhanced disability benefits to volunteer emergency medical technicians, many of whom accompany firefighters to burning buildings and are thus also at risk of exposure to a high level of carcinogens. This bill would simply create parity between volunteer firefighters and voluntary emergency medical technicians by extending the same benefits to both in order to provide peace of mind and help offset large out of pocket expenses due to their illness.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-2024: A2070 - Referred to Local Governments 2021-2022: A4748 - Referred to Local Governments 2020: A10280 - Referred to Local Governments   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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A02464 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2464
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 17, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. STERN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Local Governments
 
        AN ACT to amend the general municipal  law,  in  relation  to  providing
          volunteer  emergency  medical  technician  enhanced  cancer disability
          benefits
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  The  general  municipal  law  is  amended by adding a new
     2  section 205-ccc to read as follows:
     3    § 205-ccc. Volunteer  emergency  medical  technician  enhanced  cancer
     4  disability  benefits. A legally organized ambulance district, department
     5  or company shall provide and maintain for each eligible volunteer  emer-
     6  gency  medical  technician, an enhanced cancer disability benefit insur-
     7  ance program.
     8    1. As used in this section:
     9    a. "Eligible volunteer emergency medical technician" means:
    10    (i) A volunteer emergency medical technician having five or more years
    11  of faithful and  actual  service  in  emergency  medical  treatment  who
    12  successfully  passed  a  physical examination on entry to service, which
    13  examination failed to reveal any evidence of cancers as defined in para-
    14  graph b of this subdivision; and
    15    (ii) Having submitted proof of five  years  of  service  by  providing
    16  verification  that  such volunteer has met minimum standards for certif-
    17  ication as an emergency medical technician under section three  thousand
    18  two of the public health law.
    19    b. "Cancer" means:
    20    (i)  A disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in
    21  a part of the body or a malignant growth or  tumor  resulting  from  the
    22  division of abnormal cells; and
    23    (ii)  Affecting  the  prostate  or  breast,  lymphatic, hematological,
    24  digestive, urinary, neurological, or reproductive systems, or melanoma.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01467-01-5

        A. 2464                             2
 
     1    2. An eligible volunteer emergency medical technician shall  be  enti-
     2  tled to payment of enhanced cancer benefits as follows:
     3    a. A lump sum benefit of twenty-five thousand dollars for each diagno-
     4  sis  payable  to such emergency medical technician upon acceptable proof
     5  to the insurance carrier or other payor of a diagnosis by a board certi-
     6  fied physician in the medical specialty  appropriate  for  the  type  of
     7  cancer  diagnosed that there are one or more malignant tumors character-
     8  ized by the uncontrollable and abnormal growth and spread  of  malignant
     9  cells with invasion of normal tissue and that either:
    10    (i) There is metastasis; and
    11    (1) surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy is medically necessary; or
    12    (2) there is a tumor of the prostate, provided that it is treated with
    13  radical prostatectomy or external beam therapy; or
    14    (ii)  The emergency medical technician has terminal cancer, their life
    15  expectancy is twenty-four months or less from the date of diagnosis, and
    16  will not benefit from, or has exhausted, curative therapy.
    17    b. A lump sum benefit of six thousand two hundred  fifty  dollars  for
    18  each diagnosis payable to such emergency medical technician upon accept-
    19  able  proof  to the insurance carrier or other payor of a diagnosis by a
    20  board certified physician in the medical specialty appropriate  for  the
    21  type of cancer involved that either:
    22    (i)  There  is  carcinoma  in situ such that surgery, radiotherapy, or
    23  chemotherapy has been determined to be medically necessary;
    24    (ii) There are malignant tumors which are treated by endoscopic proce-
    25  dures alone; or
    26    (iii) There are malignant melanomas.
    27    c. A monthly benefit of one thousand five hundred  dollars,  of  which
    28  the  first  payment  shall be made six months after total disability and
    29  submission of acceptable proof  of  said  disability  to  the  insurance
    30  carrier or other payor that such disability is caused by cancer and that
    31  such  cancer  precludes the emergency medical technician from performing
    32  their duties in that service. Such benefit  shall  continue  for  up  to
    33  thirty-six consecutive monthly payments.
    34    (i)  Such  monthly  benefit  shall be subordinate to any other benefit
    35  actually paid to the emergency medical technician solely for such  disa-
    36  bility  from any other source, not including private insurance purchased
    37  solely by the emergency medical technician, and shall be limited to  the
    38  difference  between the amount of such other paid benefit and the amount
    39  specified herein; and
    40    (ii) Any emergency medical technician receiving such monthly  benefits
    41  may  be  required  to have their condition reevaluated. In the event any
    42  such reevaluation reveals that such person has regained the  ability  to
    43  perform  duties  as  an emergency medical technician, then their monthly
    44  benefits shall cease the last day of the month of reevaluation.
    45    (iii) In the event that there is a subsequent reoccurrence of a  disa-
    46  bility caused by cancer which precludes the emergency medical technician
    47  from  performing  their  duties,  they  shall be entitled to receive any
    48  remaining monthly payments.
    49    d. An eligible volunteer emergency medical technician  shall  also  be
    50  entitled  to  an additional payment of enhanced cancer death benefits in
    51  the amount of fifty thousand dollars which is payable to such  volunteer
    52  or  their  beneficiary upon acceptable proof by a board certified physi-
    53  cian that  such  emergency  medical  technician's  death  resulted  from
    54  complications associated with cancer.

        A. 2464                             3
 
     1    e.  Provided  however, an eligible volunteer emergency medical techni-
     2  cian shall be ineligible for these benefits if they are already provided
     3  paid benefits under this article.
     4    3.  The combined total of all benefits received by any eligible volun-
     5  teer emergency medical technician pursuant to  paragraphs  a  and  b  of
     6  subdivision  two  of this section during their lifetime shall not exceed
     7  fifty thousand dollars.
     8    4. An eligible volunteer emergency  medical  technician  shall  remain
     9  eligible  for  benefits pursuant to paragraphs a, b and d of subdivision
    10  two of this section for sixty months after the formal cessation  of  the
    11  volunteer  emergency  medical technician's status as an active volunteer
    12  emergency medical technician.  The  ambulance  district,  department  or
    13  company  in  which  such  emergency  medical  technician served shall be
    14  responsible for payment of all premiums or other costs  associated  with
    15  benefits provided under paragraphs a, b and d of subdivision two of this
    16  section  throughout  the  duration  of  the eligible volunteer emergency
    17  medical technician's coverage.
    18    5. An ambulance district, department or company shall, no  later  than
    19  January first, two thousand twenty-six, show proof of insurance coverage
    20  that  meets  the requirements of this section or shall show satisfactory
    21  proof of the ability to pay such compensation to ensure adequate  cover-
    22  age  for  all  eligible  volunteer emergency medical technicians.   Such
    23  coverage shall remain in effect until sixty months after  the  ambulance
    24  district,  department  or  company no longer has any volunteer emergency
    25  medical technicians who could qualify for this benefit.
    26    6. Any ambulance district, department or company that has had a volun-
    27  teer emergency medical  technician  file  a  claim  for  or  receive  an
    28  enhanced  cancer disability benefit under the provisions of this section
    29  shall report such claims filed, claims paid and types of claims  to  the
    30  New  York state emergency medical services council. Beginning on January
    31  first, two thousand  twenty-seven,  New  York  state  emergency  medical
    32  services  council  shall  report annually to the governor, the temporary
    33  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair  of  the
    34  senate  finance  committee  and the chair of the assembly ways and means
    35  committee the number of emergency medical  technicians  who  have  filed
    36  claims  pursuant  to  this  section  and the number of emergency medical
    37  technicians who have received benefits  under  the  provisions  of  this
    38  section.
    39    7. The New York state emergency medical services council, in consulta-
    40  tion  with the department of financial services and the workers' compen-
    41  sation board, shall adopt such rules and regulations as  are  reasonable
    42  and  necessary  to  implement the provisions of this section. Such regu-
    43  lations shall include the process by which an emergency medical  techni-
    44  cian  files  a claim for the enhanced cancer disability benefit, how the
    45  beneficiary of such  eligible  volunteer  emergency  medical  technician
    46  files  a  claim  for  the  enhanced cancer death benefit, the process by
    47  which claimants can appeal a denial of benefits and what proof is deemed
    48  acceptable to qualify for such benefits.
    49    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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