Starting next month, Connecticut will expand its firefighter benefits to include free enhanced cancer screenings. Gov. Ned Lamont and state Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced the new benefit on Monday. It goes into effect on May 1.
State officials said it came in response to evidence that firefighters, due to their repeated exposure to smoke, toxic chemicals, and carcinogens in the line of duty, have a greater prevalence of cancer diagnoses and cancer-related deaths than the general population.
They said more than 900 firefighters enrolled in the state employee health plan and partnership plan, both of which Scanlon oversees, will have free access to a comprehensive, full-body scan once every two years. The screenings have been designed to detect cancers early, often before symptoms appear, when treatment is more effective, and outcomes are significantly better.
Lamont said that while expected to cost the state about $150,000 every year, the costs associated with later-stage cancers are far greater, along with the hardship placed on firefighters, their families, and their departments.
