Senator Nozzolio’s Volunteer Firemen Cancer Coverage Legislation Championed By FASNY

Senator Mike Nozzolio with members of FASNY

New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio, along with the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY), pledged their continued support to enact the Senator’s legislation, which would extend the Volunteer Firefighters’ Benefit Law.

“This legislation will provide greatly needed presumptive cancer coverage to the nearly 100,000 volunteer firefighters in New York State who are at a significantly higher risk for cancers due to their exposure to carcinogens and other deadly toxins,” said Senator Nozzolio. “My constituent, Matthew Foe of Geneva, a volunteer fireman for over 20 years, passed away at the age of 40 after battling brain cancer.  Matthew was a tireless advocate for this issue and I am pleased to have the support of FASNY and thousands of firefighters across the state as we work to enact this legislation.  The measure would ensure that devoted volunteers, like Matthew, who sacrifice their safety to protect all of us, will not be neglected when facing a cancer diagnosis.”

Specifically, Senator Nozzolio’s legislation expands the coverage to include cancer of the digestive, hematological, lymphatic, urinary, prostate, neurological, breast and reproductive systems. The bill was enacted in the Senate during the 2015 legislation session but was stalled in the Assembly.