Eleven years in the making and they're still figuring out who gets covered.
The Zadroga Act of 2010 was set to establish the World Trade Center Health Program, providing medical monitoring and treatment of 9/11-related health conditions for emergency personnel, rescue, and clean-up workers that not only responded at the World Trade Center site but the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The only catch to this bill is that one must qualify for eligibility. DNAinfo reports that a 15-member Congressional Panel has been appointed to review research and decide which health conditions are linked to toxins at Ground Zero.
The panel met to discuss if those first responders suffering from cancer should be covered under the Zadroga Act. Panel Member Catherine McVay Hughes said she believes the research clearly shows a link between 9/11 exposure and cancer.
The research and evaluation should be a moot point, and obviously done years ago. However, as DNAinfo reports "If cancer is officially in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, those who are sick with cancer and the families of those who have died will be able to apply to the $2.8 billion Compensation Fund.
Numerous studies and panels have already been conducted within the past many years. It became apparent that officials under reported the severity of conditions around Ground Zero, but now in this fiscal climate many survivors and family of those lost will be dipping into this Fund. The fight to get cancer onto the bill took long enough, but looks like another battle on the horizon.
For more on the story check out DNAinfo
