[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2852 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2852
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Firefighter Cancer Detection
and Prevention Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. MEDICAL TESTING AND RELATED SERVICES FOR FIREFIGHTERS OF
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.
(a) Provision of Services.--During the annual periodic health
assessment of each firefighter of the Department of Defense, or at such
other intervals as may be indicated in this subsection, the Secretary
shall provide to the firefighter (at no cost to the firefighter)
appropriate medical testing and related services to detect, document
the presence or absence of, and prevent, certain cancers. Such services
shall meet, at a minimum, the following criteria:
(1) Breast cancer.--With respect to the breast cancer
screening, if the firefighter is a female firefighter--
(A) such services shall include the provision of a
mammogram to the firefighter--
(i) on at least a biannual basis if the
firefighter is 40 years old to 49 years old
(inclusive);
(ii) on at least an annual basis if the
firefighter is at least 50 years old; and
(iii) as clinically indicated (without
regard to age); and
(B) in connection with such provision, a licensed
radiologist shall review the most recent mammogram
provided to the firefighter, as compared to prior
mammograms so provided, and provide to the firefighter
the results of such review.
(2) Colon cancer.--With respect to colon cancer screening--
(A) if the firefighter is at least 40 years old,
and as otherwise clinically indicated, such services
shall include the communication to the firefighter of
the risks and benefits of stool-based blood testing;
(B) if the firefighter is at least 45 years old,
and as clinically indicated (without regard to age),
such services shall include the provision, at regular
intervals, of visual examinations (such as a
colonoscopy, CT colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy)
or stool-based blood testing; and
(C) in connection with such provision, a licensed
physician shall review and provide to the firefighter
the results of such examination or testing, as the case
may be.
(3) Prostate cancer.--With respect to prostate cancer
screening, if the firefighter is a male firefighter, the
communication to the firefighter of the risks and benefits of
prostate cancer screenings and the provision to the firefighter
of a prostate-specific antigen test--
(A) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is at
least 50 years old;
(B) on an annual basis, if the firefighter is at
least 40 years old and is a high-risk individual; and
(C) as clinically indicated (without regard to
age).
(4) Other cancers.--Such services shall include routine
screenings for any other cancer the risk or occurrence of which
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has identified as higher among firefighters than among the
general public, the provision of which shall be carried out
during the annual periodic health assessment of the
firefighter.
(b) Optional Nature.--A firefighter of the Department of Defense
may opt out of the receipt of a medical testing or related service
provided under subsection (a).
(c) Use of Consensus Technical Standards.--In providing medical
testing and related services under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
use consensus technical standards in accordance with section 12(d) of
the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C.
272 note).
(d) Documentation.--
(1) In general.--In providing medical testing and related
services under subsection (a), the Secretary--
(A) shall document the acceptance rates of such
tests offered and the rates of such tests performed;
(B) shall document tests results, to identify
trends in the rates of cancer occurrences among
firefighters; and
(C) may collect and maintain additional information
from the recipients of such tests and other services,
to allow for appropriate scientific analysis.
(2) Privacy.--In analyzing any information of an individual
documented, collected, or maintained under paragraph (1), in
addition to complying with other applicable privacy laws, the
Secretary shall ensure the name, and any other personally
identifiable information, of the individual is removed from
such information prior to the analysis.
(3) Sharing with centers for disease control and
prevention.--The Secretary may share data from any tests
performed under subsection (a) with the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, as appropriate, to increase
the knowledge and understanding of cancer occurrences among
firefighters.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``firefighter'' has the meaning given that
term in section 707 of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1441; 10
U.S.C. 1074m note).
(2) The term ``high-risk individual'' means an individual
who--
(A) is African American;
(B) has at least one first-degree relative who has
been diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age; or
(C) is otherwise determined by the Secretary to be
high risk with respect to prostate cancer.
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