When firefighter Stephen Babcock found out he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in October, his costs to fight the illness should have been covered.
State lawmakers had passed a bill that was supposed to protect firefighters who fell ill with 10 types of cancer that likely stem from on-the-job exposure to carcinogens. Those firefighters were supposed to have their lost wages covered as well.
But it turned out that lawmakers never actually set aside any money.
This month, partly thanks to a new round of pressure from about 300 firefighters who gathered in Lansing last week, the state Senate has scheduled a vote on a bill that would finally provide roughly $4 million in funding for the next two years for those workers compensation claims. The bill is expected to pass, but it will then head to the House, where the timeline is less clear.
Yet these legislative actions were too late to help pay for Babcock's expenses. Instead, Babcock, who was also the spokesman for the Lansing Fire Department, got cancer treatment through his health insurance plan, and paid the remaining expenses out of pocket. In early February, Babcock died.