This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Colorado passes legislation to provide paid leave for living organ donors
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The Colorado legislature recently passed HB1202. According to a press release from the National Kidney Foundation, the legislation provides paid leave for employees who would like to become a living organ donor and gives private employers a voluntary tax credit of 35% of an employee’s salary to cover up to 10 business days of paid leave.
According to the release, Medicare spends $87,000 per patient on dialysis and spends less than half on a transplant recipient.
The legislation states that an employer cannot claim a tax credit related to a leave of absence period for employee who earns $80,000 or more during an income tax year. The tax credit is not refundable, but unused credits can carry over forward for up to 5 years.
According to the legislation, nearly 2,400 Colorado residents are on the waiting list for lifesaving organ transplants and 96% of those could receive an organ from a living donor. Last year, 258 people in Colorado died or became too sick to remain on the waiting list, “which is 38% more than all the homicides in the state,” according to the bill.
References: leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2018A/bills/2018a_1202_rer.pdf