HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2387
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to workers' compensation medical benefits.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 386-21.9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§386-21.9 Medical care, services, and supplies for firefighters suffering from cancer[.] or diseases. (a) If a claim for [leukemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or cancer of the lung, brain, stomach, esophagus, intestines, rectum, kidney, bladder, prostate, breast, female reproductive organs, or testes] any form of the covered cancers or diseases under subsection (b) filed by an employee with five or more years of service as a firefighter is accepted or determined to be compensable, section 386-21 shall remain applicable[;], unless the employer proves that the cancer or disease was not associated with the firefighting duties; provided that the employer shall be liable for medical care, services, and supplies for a minimum of one hundred ten per cent, and not to exceed one hundred fifty per cent of fees prescribed in the Medicare Resource Based Relative Value Scale applicable to Hawaii as prepared by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

(b) The following cancers or diseases shall be covered under this section:

(1) Adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory system;

(2) Cancer of the bladder; brain; breast; buccal cavity; cervix; colon; esophagus; intestines; kidney; lung; ovary; pharynx; prostate; rectum; skin; female reproductive organs, including the uterus, endometrium, and fallopian tubes; stomach; testes; or thyroid;

(3) Leukemia;

(4) Malignant melanoma;

(5) Multiple myeloma; or

(6) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma."

SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Firefighters; Workers' Compensation Medical Benefits; Cancer

Description:

Expands workers' compensation medical benefits for firefighters to include coverage for adenocarcinoma or mesothelioma of the respiratory system; cancer of the buccal cavity, cervix, colon, esophagus, ovary, pharynx, skin, female reproductive organs, including the uterus, endometrium, and fallopian tubes, and thyroid; and malignant melanoma. Specifies that an employer may prove that the cancer or disease was not associated with the firefighting duties to deny medical benefits under workers' compensation law.

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