Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection and Prevention Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2852 To require the Secretary of Defense to provide to firefighters of the Depart- ment of Defense medical testing and related services to detect and prevent certain cancers. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 25, 2023 Ms. SLOTKIN (for herself and Mr. BACON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To require the Secretary of Defense to provide to firefighters of the Department of Defense medical testing and related services to detect and prevent certain cancers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Firefighter 4 Cancer Detection and Prevention Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2852 IH SEC. 2. MEDICAL TESTING AND RELATED SERVICES FOR 1 FIREFIGHTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF DE- 2 FENSE. 3 (a) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—During the annual 4 periodic health assessment of each firefighter of the De- 5 partment of Defense, or at such other intervals as may 6 be indicated in this subsection, the Secretary shall provide 7 to the firefighter (at no cost to the firefighter) appropriate 8 medical testing and related services to detect, document 9 the presence or absence of, and prevent, certain cancers. 10 Such services shall meet, at a minimum, the following cri- 11 teria: 12 (1) BREAST CANCER.—With respect to the 13 breast cancer screening, if the firefighter is a female 14 firefighter— 15 (A) such services shall include the provi- 16 sion of a mammogram to the firefighter— 17 (i) on at least a biannual basis if the 18 firefighter is 40 years old to 49 years old 19 (inclusive); 20 (ii) on at least an annual basis if the 21 firefighter is at least 50 years old; and 22 (iii) as clinically indicated (without re- 23 gard to age); and 24 (B) in connection with such provision, a li- 25 censed radiologist shall review the most recent 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2852 IH mammogram provided to the firefighter, as 1 compared to prior mammograms so provided, 2 and provide to the firefighter the results of such 3 review. 4 (2) COLON CANCER.—With respect to colon 5 cancer screening— 6 (A) if the firefighter is at least 40 years 7 old, and as otherwise clinically indicated, such 8 services shall include the communication to the 9 firefighter of the risks and benefits of stool- 10 based blood testing; 11 (B) if the firefighter is at least 45 years 12 old, and as clinically indicated (without regard 13 to age), such services shall include the provi- 14 sion, at regular intervals, of visual examinations 15 (such as a colonoscopy, CT colonoscopy, or 16 flexible sigmoidoscopy) or stool-based blood 17 testing; and 18 (C) in connection with such provision, a li- 19 censed physician shall review and provide to the 20 firefighter the results of such examination or 21 testing, as the case may be. 22 (3) PROSTATE CANCER.—With respect to pros- 23 tate cancer screening, if the firefighter is a male 24 firefighter, the communication to the firefighter of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2852 IH the risks and benefits of prostate cancer screenings 1 and the provision to the firefighter of a prostate-spe- 2 cific antigen test— 3 (A) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is 4 at least 50 years old; 5 (B) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is 6 at least 40 years old and is a high-risk indi- 7 vidual; and 8 (C) as clinically indicated (without regard 9 to age). 10 (4) OTHER CANCERS.—Such services shall in- 11 clude routine screenings for any other cancer the 12 risk or occurrence of which the Director of the Cen- 13 ters for Disease Control and Prevention has identi- 14 fied as higher among firefighters than among the 15 general public, the provision of which shall be car- 16 ried out during the annual periodic health assess- 17 ment of the firefighter. 18 (b) OPTIONAL NATURE.—A firefighter of the Depart- 19 ment of Defense may opt out of the receipt of a medical 20 testing or related service provided under subsection (a). 21 (c) USE OF CONSENSUS TECHNICAL STANDARDS.— 22 In providing medical testing and related services under 23 subsection (a), the Secretary shall use consensus technical 24 standards in accordance with section 12(d) of the National 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2852 IH Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 1 U.S.C. 272 note). 2 (d) DOCUMENTATION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In providing medical testing 4 and related services under subsection (a), the Sec- 5 retary— 6 (A) shall document the acceptance rates of 7 such tests offered and the rates of such tests 8 performed; 9 (B) shall document tests results, to iden- 10 tify trends in the rates of cancer occurrences 11 among firefighters; and 12 (C) may collect and maintain additional in- 13 formation from the recipients of such tests and 14 other services, to allow for appropriate scientific 15 analysis. 16 (2) PRIVACY.—In analyzing any information of 17 an individual documented, collected, or maintained 18 under paragraph (1), in addition to complying with 19 other applicable privacy laws, the Secretary shall en- 20 sure the name, and any other personally identifiable 21 information, of the individual is removed from such 22 information prior to the analysis. 23 (3) SHARING WITH CENTERS FOR DISEASE 24 CONTROL AND PREVENTION.—The Secretary may 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 May 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2852 IH share data from any tests performed under sub- 1 section (a) with the Director of the Centers for Dis- 2 ease Control and Prevention, as appropriate, to in- 3 crease the knowledge and understanding of cancer 4 occurrences among firefighters. 5 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 (1) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the meaning 7 given that term in section 707 of the National De- 8 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Pub- 9 lic Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1441; 10 U.S.C. 1074m 10 note). 11 (2) The term ‘‘high-risk individual’’ means an 12 individual who— 13 (A) is African American; 14 (B) has at least one first-degree relative 15 who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer at 16 an early age; or 17 (C) is otherwise determined by the Sec- 18 retary to be high risk with respect to prostate 19 cancer. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 May 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2852.IH H2852 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS