[Date]

[Senator or Representative Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip]

Dear [Senator or Representative LAST NAME],

A very important bill to my family and me, H.B. 5629, was recently voted out of the Labor Committee without opposition.

If passed, the legislation will provide presumptive coverage for fire fighters and police officers for cardiac emergencies and communicable diseases like hepatitis and tuberculosis. It is my understanding that all other public safety personnel in Connecticut enjoy some form of this protection already. I do not understand why my family and I do not.

The cost for extending the coverages proposed in this bill should be minimal as most costs are already covered my health insurance or worker’s compensation and the number of claims few.

The primary benefit to fire fighters and police officers of this bill is that the presumption language challenges municipalities to deny claims based on proof rather than automatically rejecting the claim as they do now. Asking towns and cities to have proof before automatically rejecting a claim does not seem unreasonable to me.

More than 40 states, including Connecticut in some instances, except for my colleagues and I, currently recognize certain illnesses as occupational hazards of fire fighting and have enacted laws presuming these illnesses are job-related, giving them added peace of mind under already stressful circumstances.

Please support H.B. 5629 AAC WORKERS’ COMPENSATION FOR FIREFIGHTERS, POLICE OFFICERS AND EMERRGENCY RESCUE WORKERS. It is only fair.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,