HB19-1253 Passed in the Senate Committee Health & Human Services!

Another victory for living organ donors!

Yesterday, HB19-1253 also known as the Colorado Living Organ Donor Insurance Act passed in the Senate Health & Human Services 4-0. An additional critical amendment is included because of the American Transplant Foundation’s fight to better serve the living organ donor community.

This bill will prohibit life, disability income, and long-term care, and now, medical insurers from discriminating against living organ donors by charging higher premiums or refusing to insure them all together. By removing barriers such as potential insurance discrimination, more people can give and receive lifesaving organ transplants.

American Transplant Foundation is leading the fight to make this critical change possible. We believe it is crucial to include medical insurance providers to the list of entities who cannot discriminate against living donors. After some discussion, this amendment (L.004) was added! Thank you to UCHealth for your support on the addition of this amendment.

We’d also like to thank Representative Janet Buckner, Representative Lois Landgraf, Senator Dennis Hisey, and Senator Julie Gonzales for sponsoring this legislation and including this critical amendment. We are so grateful for your dedication to helping living donors. This legislation will save more lives in the state of Colorado, and set a precedent for more states across the U.S. who do not have such legislation in place.

We heard testimonies from a few individuals including American Transplant Foundation’s Board Member John Gutowski of University of Colorado Transplant Center, as well as our very own Executive Director, Anastasia Henry.

Please consider signing the petition in support of the Colorado Living Organ Donor Insurance Act HERE. 

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