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U.S. to speed up illness funds

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

September 8, 2006

WASHINGTON - U.S. Health and Human Services chief Michael Leavitt will release $75 million allocated by Congress for World Trade Center-related illnesses in early October - months earlier than projected.

Leavitt made the commitment after a Capitol Hill meeting yesterday with New York lawmakers and workers who have suffered physical and mental problems related to their Ground Zero service, and have charged that their problems are being ignored.

Federal officials had previously said the money would start flowing by the spring of 2007, but bowed to pressure from local groups.

"If the $75 million proves to be inadequate, the federal government will be part of a coordinated effort" to add more funding, Leavitt told reporters after the meeting. "We have a responsibility; we'll meet it."

In November, Congress approved $75 million for health screening and reimbursement for treatment, but it's been bottled up as officials created a system for distributing it.

"I'm heartened by this commitment to spend money appropriated nearly a year ago ... but we've been over this road before," said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who was joined by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other local members of Congress. "We've had a lot of promises and things haven't already been fulfilled."

John Sferazo, an ironworker who removed debris at Ground Zero and now takes two dozen medications for a variety of ailments, said he felt hopeful after hearing Leavitt speak. "It's a badly needed deposit on what we need," he said.

Despite Leavitt's assurances, significant questions remain unresolved - including whether the $75 million is meant to last one, two or three years. Another question is how HHS will pay for out-of-state workers who don't have access to Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital, where many programs are located.

Earlier this week, Mount Sinai released a study of 9,500 rescue and recovery workers that showed 70 percent suffer from chronic lung problems. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) will hold a field hearing in lower Manhattan today to hear testimony about health concerns.