Massachusetts H4946: An Act mandating access to cancer screenings for firefighters through health care benefits plans or programs provided by the public employer

What the bill says

From the introduced text, January 23, 2026:

SECTION 1. A firefighter employed as a full-time paid employee of a fire department of the State or a City, Town, Fire or Water District, shall be provided a cancer screening examination conducted by a physician not less than three years after the start of the firefighter’s employment as a firefighter and every three years thereafter during the course of the firefighter’s employment. This section shall also apply to members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department, members of the 104th fighter wing fire department, and members of the Devens fire department established pursuant to chapter 498 of the acts of 1993 and, for the purposes of this section, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Military Reservation, the Barnes Air National Guard Base and the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone established pursuant to said chapter 498 shall be fire districts. The examination shall include screening for, at a minimum and when applicable, the following cancers: Colon; Lung; Bladder; Oral; Thyroid; Skin; Blood; Breast; Cervical; Testicular; and Prostate. All costs associated with screenings provided under this section shall be borne by the firefighter’s health care benefits plan or program provided by the firefighter’s employer. No co-payment, deductible, coinsurance, or any out-of-pocket expense shall be required for such examinations, provided, however, that cost sharing shall be required if the applicable plan is governed …

Read the full official text

Sponsors

• Services, Joint Committee on Financial (I) · primary sponsor
• Priscila Sousa (D)
• James Arciero (D, 2nd Middlesex)
• Natalie Higgins (D, 4th Worcester)
• Tarr, Andrew (D, 5th Essex)
• Richard Wells (D)
• Adrian Madaro (D)
• Antonio Cabral (D)
• Steven Howitt (R, 4th Bristol)
• Adrianne Ramos (D)
• Jonathan Zlotnik (D, 2nd Worcester)
• Bridget Plouffe (D)

Latest actions

1. July 31, 2026: New draft substituted, see H5631
2. July 31, 2026: Read second, amended (as recommended by the committee on House Ways and Means)
3. July 31, 2026: Rules suspended
4. July 31, 2026: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting for a second reading with the amendment pending
5. July 31, 2026: Referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling with the amendment pending
6. July 31, 2026: Committee recommended ought to pass with an amendment, substituting therefor a bill with the same title, see H5631
7. April 15, 2026: Committee recommended bill ought to pass and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
8. January 23, 2026: Reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Health Care Financing
9. January 23, 2026: New draft of H1230
10. January 23, 2026: Reported from the committee on Financial Services

Votes

• Committee Vote - House Committee on Ways and Means (July 31, 2026): 29 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Committee Vote - Joint Committee on Health Care Financing (April 9, 2026): 13 yea, 0 nay, passed
• Committee Vote - Joint Committee on Financial Services (December 16, 2025): 11 yea, 0 nay, passed

Common questions

What is H4946?

H4946 is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature (194th General Court): An Act mandating access to cancer screenings for firefighters through health care benefits plans or programs provided by the public employer.

What is the status of H4946?

In committee as of July 31, 2026. Latest action: New draft substituted, see H5631 (July 31, 2026).

Who sponsored H4946?

Services, Joint Committee on Financial (I), with 11 co-sponsors.

Where is the official record for H4946?

On the Massachusetts Legislature website: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4946