ATLANTA — Brian Scudder worked in his chemotherapy treatments between shifts at the firehouse.

The Gilmer County, Georgia, firefighter, who was diagnosed with stage-four Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said his insurance policy through the department left him no other choice.

“You get cancer, and it’s like getting a common cold,” he said of the benefits.

A renewed effort to change that is gaining traction under the Gold Dome. A measure that would require local governments to provide insurance benefits to firefighters with certain cancers easily cleared the House on Tuesday.

It must still, however, be approved by the Senate and Gov. Nathan Deal, who vetoed a different version of the proposal last year.

That plan made service-related cancers eligible for a worker’s compensation claim. But cities and counties decried the measure as financially burdensome, and Deal cited their concerns when he rejected it.

The new proposal offers aid through insurance, although the sponsor, Rep. Micah Gravley, R-Douglasville, has also revamped last year’s failed proposal.

That worker’s compensation strategy — seen as a more contentious option — has taken a backseat to the insurance bill.

“You’d have two attorneys fighting against each other while a guy and his family are suffering,” Rep. Jason Ridley, R-Chatsworth, said of the original proposal.

Required coverage will give firefighters immediate aid, said Ridley, who is a co-signer on the now-paused worker’s compensation bill.

If approved, firefighters with cancers that tend to be more common in their profession will qualify for upfront cash for out-of-pocket expenses. They could also receive disability for up to three years when they are unable to work.

Right now, firefighters risk losing access to health insurance as they become physically unable to work because of the cancer.

“It’s just incompatible with their career, which is the irony,” said Jim Daws, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Georgia, in an earlier interview. “They get it because of their career, and then it wrecks their career.”

Leukemia, brain, breast and prostate cancers are among the eligible forms. Scudder’s Non-Hodgkin lymphoma would have qualified, as would Atlanta fireman Frank Martinez’s colon cancer.

Martinez advocated for benefits for cancer-stricken firefighters last legislative session, sitting next to Scudder up in the House gallery when the lawmakers approved it. He died in December.

“He’d be happy to know that other guys after us are going to be able to get some help,” said Scudder, who has been in remission for 12 years.

House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, a powerful supporter of the bill and Scudder’s state representative, said Tuesday that he’s optimistic the measure will find support in the Senate and with Deal.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he told reporters. “This is not complicated, and I hope that they will agree with us.”

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.