Deadline Nears for 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund - East Idaho News
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Deadline Nears for 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund

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Getty 100113 PaymentDeadline?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1380648723599iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Health officials are urging people who were directly affected by the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center to sign up for the Victims Compensation Fund before this Thursday’s deadline.

The fund was established in 2010 as part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to help offset the medical expenses of those who worked at Ground Zero or lived, worked or attended school in the immediate area. Fifty types of cancers are eligible for financial support.

The deadline for filing initial paperwork is this Thursday, Oct. 3. After that, the fund will no longer accept registrants, even for those who have a covered illness.

Dr. Michael Crane, an assistant professor of preventative medicine at Mount Sinai, points out the studies looking at 9/11 illnesses have only reviewed cases up to about 2008.

“We don’t even really think about most cancers until at least 10 years after a toxic event but we are already seeing an increase here that is at or approaching statistical significance. This is the first clue that cancers might be elevated in this population,” Crane said.

An upcoming study by the New York City Police Department underscores this point. Conducted in conjunction with Cornell Weill Medical Center, the study found a fivefold increase in cancers among department members who spent time at the site of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. Incidence of one form of thyroid cancer showed a tenfold increase.

Eli Klienman, the NYPD’s supervising chief surgeon, said at a press conference Monday that the preliminary study results were being released several months early so that its members can have the information sooner.

Once you sign up for the fund, you have two years to complete your filing, explains Arthur Schwartz, a principal at Advocates for Justice, one of the firms that, for a small fee, helps eligible participants sign up and assists them in getting their claims processed. He called the process daunting. It involves an examination by a doctor affiliated with the World Trade Center Health Program, submission of detailed medical records and medical bills, employment records, and affidavits from various people who can vouch for your whereabouts on 9/11 and the following year, he said.

Filing the complete claim can take up to two years and Schwartz worried that the increased number of claimants will slow the process down even more.

“With this greater number, I’m afraid people will be spending too many years waiting to get help. They need to find a way to speed things up,” he said.

As of now, just 53 claim decisions have been made by the fund.

If you believe you are eligible for the compensation fund, you may find out more on how to file before the Thursday deadline by following this link.

Gail Robinson, director of public affairs for the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, said that while she urges people to sign up for the victim’s fund ahead of the deadline, free medical benefits will still be available to eligible victims, including screening, treatment and medicine for a number of cancers and other World Trade Center related conditions, including respiratory ailments, some mental health disorders and stomach problems such as GERD.

“Tens of thousands of people eligible for this have not signed up for the care they need and deserve, including responders and people who lived worked or attended school near the Trade Center site,” she said.

More information is available on the NYCOSH website.

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