Jenkins seeks to protect black lung benefits from repeal ax

Jan. 06--In the mist of Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., reintroduced a resolution Thursday to protect black lung benefits from such an act.

Congressional Republicans launched their efforts to dismantle Obamacare Wednesday, saying President-elect Trump will repeal the ACA by a series of executive orders and legislation. Republicans said they will replace the federal health care law with a conservative replacement, but have failed to give any details on their plans.

Jenkins said Congress must reaffirm its efforts to preserve black lung benefits for miners who become ill due to working in the mines.

"As Congress works on health care reform, we must remember the miners who toil above ground and underground to power our nation," he said.

He said any replacement of the ACA must include the Byrd Amendment, he said.

The Byrd Amendment, named after late West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd, has two components aimed at assisting miners and their families. The first component, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, mandates a presumption of total disability or death caused by pneumoconiosis for coal miners who worked for at least 15 years in mining and who suffer or suffered from a totally disabling respiratory impairment. The second component provides automatic entitlement for eligible survivors of miners who were themselves entitled to receive benefits as a result of a lifetime claim.

The two-page legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., David McKinley and Alex Mooney, both R-W.Va., and Hal Rogers, R-Ky.

A National Public Radio investigation late last year revealed coal miners across Appalachia are suffering from a serious form of the deadly disease. In 11 black lung clinics in Virginia, West Virginia Pennsylvania and Ohio, more than 962 cases were reported over the last decade, striking mostly younger miners. The true number, NPR reported, is most likely higher, as some clinics had incomplete data and some refused tot urn over records.

-- Email: dtyson@register-herald.com

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