9/11 Health Watch Statement on the Third Anniversary of the signing of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
9/11 Health Watch Statement on the Third Anniversary of the signing of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010:
Today, January 2nd 2014, is the Third Anniversary of the signing into law by President Obama of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, Public Law No: 111-347. We should remember that after years of delay, the Congress, finally acted by creating the World Trade Center Health Program dedicated to the care of the responders and survivors who were affected by the toxins at Ground Zero and reopened the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, to provide compensation for economic losses for those injured and the families of those who have died because of their injuries.
Since the legislation was signed by President Obama, the World Trade Center Health Program, under the direction of Dr. John Howard, is now providing health care and medical monitoring for injured World Trade Center Responders and Survivors and for Responders to the Pentagon and the Shanksville crash sites. The program has added over 4,200 more Responders and Survivors since it started in July 1, 2011 with a total of over 65,000 program participants. This includes hundreds that are now getting treated for covered cancers, including prostate cancer that was just added to the list of covered cancers, and more than 15,000 Responders and Survivors that that have received medical treatment for the full range of covered conditions in the last year.
While the World Trade Center Health Program has made great strides in providing medical monitoring and treatment, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has yet to meet our expectations.
The VCF has registered many thousands of Responders and Survivors but, the program has been slow to provide final determinations. 911 Health Watch is working on actively monitoring both the Health Program and the VCF and is working on recommendations on how these programs can be improved. Those injured and sickened by the 9/11 attacks deserve responsive medical and compensation programs.