Justin Young has spent nearly 23 years as a firefighter and paramedic in West Jordan, and when his prostate cancer returned this year, he expected Utah's workers' compensation system to have his back. Instead, he waited more than 100 days for an answer, could not start treatment in the meantime, and ultimately had his claim denied.
Young was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023, when doctors believed they had removed it, according to KSL. But the cancer came back, and Young told the outlet, “So I was diagnosed on April 29. The paperwork was filed on April 30.” He said he was unable to move forward with treatment while he waited for a decision on his claim.
Under Utah's workers' compensation rules, insurers generally have 21 days to decide a claim or notify the claimant that more investigation time is needed, with a total of 45 days allowed once an investigation extension is used, per the same KSL report. Young's wait stretched well past that. After 111 days, Travelers denied his claim, saying his cancer was first diagnosed in 2023, years before Utah's 2025 expansion of firefighter cancer coverage took effect on July 1.
Insurer Says It Evaluates Each Claim Individually
Travelers said it evaluates each workers' compensation claim individually according to applicable state laws, and determined that the statutory presumption did not apply to Young's claim based on the available evidence. The company added, “We will reevaluate our decision when we receive new information.” Young said he has started treatment through his own health insurance rather than keep waiting.
“I feel like maybe I'm walking this a little bit alone,” Young said, describing the lack of support from insurers and representatives as a gut punch, the station's report notes. Utah Labor Commission spokesman Eric Olsen said that good cause can exempt a carrier from strict adherence to the usual claim decision time frames, and that investigating a claim or delays beyond a carrier's control qualify as good cause.
Lawmakers Hear of Dozens More Cases
Young is not alone in hitting this wall. Rep. Casey Snider, who sponsored the law expanding the cancer presumption, said he has heard of about 30 to 40 firefighters caught in the same coverage gap since the law passed. Snider said he has yet to speak with a firefighter facing an initial cancer diagnosis who had a positive experience resolving the problem, adding that the law is falling short of his intent and that process is getting in people's way.
Snider and Rep. Jordan Teuscher of South Jordan, who has also worked on the issue, plan to address the coverage gap in the next legislative session. Teuscher said he is confident a colleague would take up the issue even if he loses his reelection race. Utah lawmakers expanded the presumption law in 2025, growing the list of covered cancers from four to 15.
A Trust Fund That Hasn't Paid Out Yet
To bridge gaps like the one Young fell into, Utah lawmakers created the Firefighter Cancer Benefit Trust Fund in 2026, intended to help firefighters start cancer treatment while their workers' compensation claims are still being processed. Teuscher, who sponsored the bill, said he expects about $7 million to $10 million to flow into the fund each year.
But the fund has yet to pay out a dollar. Teuscher said its board began meeting in October and is still deciding how to distribute the money, which means it offers no immediate relief to firefighters like Young who are already stuck in the gap. Utah law requires the board to submit its recommendations to lawmakers before Dec. 1. The board has looked at how other states handle the problem, including Colorado's approach of varying payments by cancer type and Arizona's model of reimbursing costs upfront and seeking repayment later.
Colorado's program, outlined by the Colorado Firefighter Trust, says its cancer benefits begin at diagnosis and are paid within ten days of receiving all required documentation — coverage that became mandatory for full-time, part-time and volunteer firefighters under HB24-1219, with mesothelioma set to be added starting January 1, 2027. The scale of the stakes nationally was underscored by Professional Firefighters of Utah president Jack Tidrow, who said occupational cancers accounted for 60% of firefighters' line-of-duty deaths the previous year, according to the Deseret News.
For now, Young's case sits as a stark example of the distance between what Utah's presumption law promises firefighters and what actually happens when a claim lands on an insurer's desk. The Utah Labor Commission notes that carriers may request an additional 24 days using Form 441 and that a compensability determination should come within 45 days — a timeline Young's case blew past well before Travelers ever issued its denial.
