5 days ago
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A program that provides free healthcare to first responders and survivors of the World Trade Center terror attacks has been in turmoil for months, with services cut, restored and cut again as part of the Trump administration’s “restructuring” of the federal health department.
Following the most recent cuts, groups representing survivors and even Democratic US senators say they have no clarity on how the program will continue to provide benefits.
“This is bureaucratic cruelty,” said Michael Barasch, an attorney who represents thousands of first responders and survivors of the attacks. Barasch himself was a downtown Manhattan office worker on September 11.
“You’ve got people with [post-traumatic stress disorder], which was diagnosed from all the body parts they were picking up, all that trauma – these people rely on treatment. Can you imagine their level of anxiety? Their level of anxiety is skyrocketing,” said Barasch.
Barasch said other clients undergoing cancer treatment and seeking yearly check-ups have no idea if upcoming visits will be covered. He said clients were asking: “Who’s going to pay for my chemotherapy? Do I go for my annual physical? Is that still scheduled?”
The World Trade Center Health Program is run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under its worker safety arm, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Both agencies, which are organized under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have come under severe attack by the Trump administration.
Billionaire Elon Musk and the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, have cut roughly one-quarter of the HHS workforce, or about 20,000 people from the 82,000-person agency. The most recent cuts, taking place on April Fools’ Day, hit the CDC and the NIOSH especially hard – although there is still no accounting of exact cuts from the administration.
“The chaos surrounding the WTC Health Program is completely unacceptable for the thousands of 9/11 survivors and first responders who risked their lives in our nation’s darkest hour,” Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic US senator, told the Guardian.
“This is completely disrespectful to the 9/11 survivors and responders who protected our nation when we were under attack and are now suffering from life-threatening health ramifications from that day.”
The lack of information has left survivors and first responders with “zero information” about whether their appointments – for cancer treatment, mental illness or basic check-ups – can continue, said Barasch.
“There’s such chaos because there’s zero information,” said Barasch. “There’s no transparency.”
Nearly 3,000 people died in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. James Zadroga, who died in 2006, was a New York City police officer that was widely believed to be the first death directly attributable to toxins released by the attacks.
The World Trade Center Health Program, victim’s compensation fund and health registry were meant to provide care and compensation to people like Zadroga, with an eponymous law that established a compensation plan, research program and free healthcare for first responders and victims of the attacks. The program was signed into law in 2011 by Barack Obama and mandated to run through 2090.
In February, the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) cut roughly 10,000 people from HHS staff, including two major research grants and 16 people from the roughly 90-person World Trade Center Health Program staff. More workers took Doge-backed buyouts. Amid bipartisan outcry, 11 workers and the two grants were then restored, according to the New York Times.
On 1 April, Kennedy then initiated a second 10,000-person cut to HHS, this time cutting nearly two-thirds of the NISOH workforce. Overall, 2,400 people were expected to be cut from the CDC, with nearly 900 coming from NIOSH alone.
Among the cuts was the entirety of the World Trade Center Health Program, including its administrator, Dr James Howard, who was appointed during the first Trump administration. After a second round of bipartisan outcry, including Republican lobbying to the White House, Howard was reinstated over the weekend. However, the fate of his staff remains unknown.
“How many people were rehired along with Dr Howard? You know as well as I know,” said Barasch.
“We know that Dr Howard has been rehired, but ultimately so much is left uncertain,” said Gillibrand. “The Trump administration is using our nation’s heroes as political pawns while critical questions surrounding the program’s funding and staffing cuts remain.”
The Guardian reached out to the Republican representative Andrew Garbarino, who led Republicans who lobbied the White House. He did not respond to requests for further information about cuts and rehirings at the program.
