A state law protecting the health of firefighters is having unintended and costly consequences for municipalities with fire departments.

Act 46 of 2011, called the Firefighters Cancer Law, guarantees that firefighters get workers’ compensation for job-related cancer diagnosis.

However, the law links all forms of cancer to firefighting for any firefighter with more than four years’ experience.

Fearing the risk of potential claims, commercial insurance carriers began to drop out of covering workers’ compensation for firefighters. That left many municipalities with fire departments with only one option to provide coverage.

“We were down to our last option — the State Workers Insurance Fund,” said Jerry Andree, Cranberry Township manager.

That fund was created nearly a century ago as a last resort for those needing workers’ compensation insurance.

Cranberry made the switch to the state fund shortly after the law passed in 2011.

Andree said the cost to the township has increased from about $22,000 to more than $41,000 a year since that time.

“This is not the result of injuries or claims,” Andree said, noting his township has had none since the law went into effect. “It’s just the premium the state is charging.”

A harsh spike in rates is something officials in Center Township hope to avoid this spring.

The township’s workers’ compensation carrier, EMC Insurance, told the township it will not renew workers’ compensation coverage when it expires March 31.

The township is working to find one of the few insurance carriers willing to insure firefighters, otherwise it will be forced to make the switch to the state fund.

“We currently pay $56,000 per year,” said Anthony Amendolea, township secretary and treasurer. “It could go up more than $25,000.”

Center Township was paying about $27,000 for workers’ compensation in 2011. Despite having fewer firefighters, Center’s rate is higher than other townships due to previous claims from township workers, Amendolea said.

However, the township has had no claims from firefighters since the law passed.

The law hurt Butler as well.

The city, whose paid firefighters still are covered by the Municipal Risk Management insurance group, paid about $85,000 for workers’ compensation for its firefighters in 2011. It is set to pay more than $141,000 this year.

The city rates are higher than townships since workers’ compensation would pay a firefighter’s salary in addition to medical bills.

But the city has been one of a few municipalities able to keep its private insurance agency since the law was passed.

Ed Kirkwood, Butler Township’s manager, said, “It forced us to go out and try to find another carrier. We could not. Now we’re in the State Workers Insurance Fund at a much higher cost.”

Butler Township was paying a little more than $17,000 before the law passed. This year, it is set to pay nearly $30,000.

The cost is only continuing to grow.

Kirkwood said his township’s rates increased nearly 22 percent from last year.

“My understanding is we will continue to experience annual increases, and we should get used to it,” he said.

While the jump in rates is difficult to deal with, the reasoning behind the law is perhaps the main issue with township leaders.

“They broke a system that wasn’t broken,” Kirkwood said. “I fully support the best level of care for someone injured in performing the duty of their positions. The old system did that.”

Andree said he simply did not understand why the law was passed.

“I don’t know what drove the legislation,” he said. “Under the previous law, if there was a cause and effect, it was covered. Now if you get cancer, it is automatically attributed to being a firefighter.”

Andree said state legislators simply made a mistake with the law.

“The General Assembly did not understand what they were doing when they did that,” he said.

The state House passed the law 200 to 1, while the Senate passed it unanimously.

All legislators representing Butler County voted in favor of the law.

State Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, said the legislators did not anticipate the massive drop in carriers.

“We anticipated some increase in the cost, but that’s to be expected when improving coverage,” he said. “But the reaction from insurance companies was unexpected.”

Gibbons said the law was worked on for years, and that it was modeled after policies several other states already had in place.

“The goal was to provide protection to firefighters due to their exposure to carcinogens,” he said. “I think we were all surprised to see such a strong reaction from the insurance companies.”

State Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th, said in an e-mail that he supported the law in 2011 because it protected firefighters.

“They are the ones on the front lines of danger in Pennsylvania’s smallest and largest cities,” the e-mail said. “They sacrifice a great deal to protect our lives and property.”

Gibbons said there are talks in the state on possible ways to help fix this issue, but said doing so could be difficult since it’s dealing with private insurance companies.

While there has been public opposition to the law, township leaders are less than optimistic it will change.

“I think if the state had any intent on changing it, they would have done it by now,” Kirkwood said.

The State Association of Township Supervisors, which represents townships across the state, has been advocating changes to be made.

Holly Fishel, the director of research for the association, said the problem is certainly widespread in the state.

“Quite a number of townships have had to go to the state funding as a last resort,” she said.

Fishel said the association has given testimony to state legislators attempting to get the state to make adjustments to the law.

The organization suggested the state could limit the types of cancer covered or even require the state to pay for part or all of the additional costs imposed by the act.

While the organization gave a lengthy testimony on the act, Fishel said she couldn’t comment on whether the state would listen to the recommendations.

“My crystal ball doesn’t work that well,” she said.