This year’s list of health champions is out.

Each year, the Colorado Community Health Network picks legislators who “have gone above and beyond” to support legislation that supports increased access to primary health care for the underserved.

And, the organization selects a member of the media or newspaper, radio or TV station for their coverage of emerging trends and issues facing the underserved.

The awards were handed out on March 13.

Among this year’s health champions were State Rep. Emily Sirota, D-Denver and Arapahoe counties, and State Sen. Perry Will, R-Delta.

Sirota was credited for sponsoring a bill — Continuous Eligibility Medical Coverage — signed by the governor in June that requires the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to study extending medical coverage for children and adults.

With the federal emergency lifted for COVID-19, more than 300,000 Coloradans were expected to lose coverage, which had been automatically extended throughout the pandemic.

Health First Colorado, which administers Medicaid in the state, has since forecasted that as many as 519,000 Coloradans who rely on this federal safety net could lose their health care coverage.

The Colorado Community Health Network also praised Sirota for her “leadership on a variety of bills addressing housing, education, and other issues related to the social determinants of health.”

Also recognized were Trevor Reid, a Greely Tribune reporter and editor, who has written extensively on health care issues, and Cathy Alderman, public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, who received the 2024 Community Health Advocate Award.

While the Coalition for the Homeless tackles a broad set of issues related to housing, health and economic stability, Alderman’s leadership was credited with advocating for bills related to affordable housing, renter protections, and health care, among others.

“She helps legislators — and all of us — make the connection that housing is health,” the organization said in a statement.

The Colorado Community Health Network (represents the state’s 20 community health centers, Colorado’s health care safety net.

To read the full list of awardees, visit https://cchn.org/.