January 8, 2025

We at the Colorado Firefighter Heart, Cancer, and Behavioral Health Benefits Trust are pleased to announce our plan for implementing House Bill 24-1219 to ensure heart and cancer statutory benefits are provided equitably to part-time and volunteer firefighters.

House Bill 24-1219 was signed into law in May 2024 and provides additional state funding for heart and cancer statutory benefits to part-time and volunteer firefighters of public agencies increasing over five (5) years. This does not include provisions for the Behavioral Health Program since that program is already available to all Colorado Fire Agencies.

As of today, we plan to implement HB 24-1219 as follows:

• Effective January 1, 2025 Membership into Heart and Cancer Program is now automatically included for all non-member volunteers and part-time firefighters from public entity fire agencies in Colorado for 57% of the limit established for Members.
• Provides benefits primarily for firefighters but allows for the inclusion of others in the direct provision of fire prevention services when a roster designating those individuals is provided.
• For eligible part time Firefighters and Volunteer Firefighters, as a non-member provide 57% of the program’s benefit limit that is applicable to Members.
• Adjust the percentage of coverage every year moving forward to account for available funding and claim projections.
• We have worked with DOLA to bill on behalf of all non-member fire agencies registered with FEMA to ease the administrative burden of Fire agencies affected.
• A partial refund to Colorado Firefighter Trust members who have paid full coverage may be available. Additional information will be provided in upcoming correspondences.

We are thrilled to be able to help provide these benefits to those that help keep their communities safe. Please watch for further communication from our team regarding the implementation process and direct any questions to jdepaepe@mcgriff.com.

For more information about our Heart or Cancer programs, visit cfhtrust.com/heart or cfhtrust.com/cancer.