HB 128 expands and clarifies New Mexico’s firefighter occupational disease presumption law. It provides that certain illnesses diagnosed in full-time, non-volunteer firefighters are presumed to be work-related if they arise after specified periods of employment and were not identified in required medical screenings. The bill lists a broad set of cancers, infectious diseases, and posttraumatic stress disorder as covered conditions, and it also establishes a presumption for heart injury or stroke occurring within 24 hours of firefighting, responding to alarms, returning from alarms, supervised physical training, or other emergency response.
The bill also sets out how those presumptions can be rebutted and preserves a firefighter’s ability to prove work-related causation even when a presumption does not apply. If a presumed condition is treated as job-related, the employer must provide medical treatment under workers’ compensation rules until a court decides otherwise. If a court later finds the condition is not covered or not job-related, the employer’s workers’ compensation insurer is reimbursed by the firefighter’s health plan or benefit plan.
Impact
HB 128 amends Section 52-3-32.1 NMSA 1978, expanding the statutory list of presumptively compensable firefighter occupational conditions and specifying the employment duration needed for certain cancers to qualify. It affects state and local government employers that employ full-time firefighters, their workers’ compensation systems, and associated health or medical insurance plans by shifting the initial burden of proof away from firefighters for covered conditions and by creating reimbursement procedures if the presumption is later overturned.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported. It passed the House by a wide margin of 60-1 and the Senate unanimously 38-0, and it was signed by the governor. The voting history suggests strong bipartisan agreement that firefighters face elevated occupational health risks and that the law should provide clearer presumptions for disability and treatment coverage.
Contention
The main policy issue is the scope of the presumption: HB 128 covers a long list of cancers, infectious diseases, PTSD, and heart injury or stroke, which increases potential employer and insurer liability. Another point of potential contention is the rebuttable nature of the presumption, including the ability to challenge claims based on outside conduct or activities that posed a significant risk. The bill also conditions the heart/stroke presumption on the employer maintaining a current physical training program and required medical screening, which may affect how agencies implement the law.