HB 1435 Summary

• Board shall offer free health insurance benefits coverage, including drug benefits, to surviving spouses and dependent children of emergency responders who die in the line of duty.

• Coverage includes children born within ten months of the emergency responder's death.

• Surviving spouses receive coverage until age 65; dependent children receive coverage until age 26.

• Employers must notify the board when an emergency responder dies in the line of duty.

• Act applies retroactively to qualifying deaths on or after January 1, 2010, but benefits do not begin before August 1, 2021.