Governor signs bill to protect living organ donors

May 26-- May 26--CUMBERLAND -- Legislation signed recently by Gov. Larry Hogan is designed to remove potential repercussions for those wishing to offer the gift of life.

Passed by the Maryland General Assembly in April, the legislation makes it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate in policies, acceptance or pricing for individuals who are living organ donors.

Troy Zimmerman, vice president for government relation for the National Kidney Foundation, spoke about the bill from his Washington, D.C., office.

"We're very pleased with this," Zimmerman said. "We've been strong proponents of this legislation for quite some time."

Maryland joins 10 states that have enacted similar legislation.

The law ensures that "life, long-term care and disability insurers will not discriminate against living organ donors through policy conditions, acceptance, or pricing based solely on the person's status as a living organ donor. It provides certain employees up to 60 days of unpaid leave for living organ donors."

Cumberland resident George Franklin is the longest living kidney transplant recipient in Maryland. November will mark 44 years since his transplant.

"This is a very important bill," he said. "It could encourage more people to donate. I'm excited and pleased. It's long overdue."

The bill (SB 705) was introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Brian Feldman. It was introduced in the House (HB 1284) by Del. Eric Luedtke.

Zimmerman said the law is designed to prevent insurance companies from discriminating based solely on being a living organ donor.

"They cannot take (donor status) into consideration and let it affect pricing or cause an outright denial," Zimmerman said.

According to Zimmerman, there is a federal version of the bill that has been in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

"We've supported it for four years," Zimmerman said. "It is one of our top legislative priorities. We would like to see a federal bill passed and that would negate the need for the state bills. It has been gaining sponsors steadily and we remain optimistic."

In Congress, the federal bill (HB 1224) has been introduced by Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Herrera Beutler, (R-Wash.) and has 53 cosponsors. In the Senate, the legislation (SB 511) was introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and has nine cosponsors.

"The bills are identical and would prohibit discrimination in life, disability and long-term care insurance for living donors and also clarifies that living donation is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act," Zimmerman said.

Follow staff writer Greg Larry on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.

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