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Montana governor signs firefighter cancer presumption bill

Posted On: Apr. 19, 2019 9:41 AM CST

Montana

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Thursday signed into law a comprehensive bill that will provide workers compensation coverage under presumption for Montana firefighters with cancers and other illnesses.

The Senate on Feb. 13 passed the version of S.B. 160 that crossed out language that would have allowed comp benefits for current and retired firefighters diagnosed with PTSD — language included in the first version introduced Jan. 22. The House approved that same version on April 8, according to the legislature’s Website.

The law covers a dozen conditions, including 11 cancers and heart blockages, and provides guidelines and exclusions for eligibility for several of them. The law’s presumptions are also rebuttable, meaning the presumption is null if the payer can prove that fire-fighting did not cause the condition.