World Trade Center Health Program Won’t Cover Cancer Treatments for Ground Zero Workers

July 2011

Leaders of the World Trade Center Health Program recently announced that Ground Zero workers and first responders of the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001 won’t be compensated for cancer treatments, due to inconclusive research findings.

The controversial decision was made as a result of the first periodic review of the James Zadroga 9/11 Healthcare and Compensation Act, which was created to help workers and responders with medical bills and illnesses that were caused as a result of being involved with 9/11 recovery efforts.

The news has angered leaders of New York and saddened those who contributed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. The "first responders" included thousands of firefighters, health professionals, police officers, machine operators, and construction workers. Their efforts likely exposed them to dangerous toxins that may have caused asthma, sleep apnea, respiratory injuries, and other illnesses of the lungs and upper digestive tract, including cancer.

The World Trade Center Health Program and the details of the medical conditions it will cover will be reviewed once again in 2012. If sufficient evidence is provided to link the toxins found at Ground Zero with responders’ cancer diagnoses, the program may decide to cover the treatments.

For more information on Ground Zero workers’ injuries, please visit EdgarSnyder.com.