9/11 HEALTHCARE BILL

9/11 Healthcare Bill



9/11 Healthcare Bill

Introduction

The paper discusses about the adverse affects the attacks of 9/11 brought to the United States of America. It is aimed at highlighting the healthcare attempts that were made for the people who had been affected by the incident. It also covers the current situation regarding the discussion of possible attempts that are to be made by President Barrack Obama.

Discussion

The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act still has not been looked at in detail by Obama, the president admitted on Feb. 3. He then added that the administration is “interested in working” in assuring that those whose health was affected by the attacks are properly cared for, yet did not say whether the bill would be passed. The bill is still floating in the House and Senate (Wayne & Collins, 2006).

Ongoing Monitoring of First Respondents' and Residents' Health

There is scientific speculation that exposure to various toxic products and the pollutants in the air surrounding the Towers after the WTC collapse may have negative effects on fetal development. Due to this potential hazard, a notable children's environmental health center is currently analyzing the children whose mothers were pregnant during the WTC collapse, and were living or working near the World Trade Center towers. The staff of this study assesses the children using psychological testing every year and interviews the mothers every six months.

An ongoing Pennsylvania State University/Monmouth University study reported that respiratory illnesses grew by more than two hundred percent in the year and a half after the September 11 attacks. (This was the first study that monitored police officers at the Ground Zero site. It was published in the "Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.") In this study of 471 police officers, 19 percent of the officers in October 2001 experienced shortness of breath; 44 percent of the officers experienced shortness of breath in April 2003. The percentage of the 471 officers coughing up phlegm increased from 14 percent in October 2001 to 31 percent in 2003 (United States of America Congressional Record Proceedings and Debates of the 110th Congress, 2004).

A 2006 medical study of fire fighters reported that those personnel who inhaled Ground Zero air essentially lost 12 years of lung function. Additionally, a Mount Sinai report found that 70 percent of recovery and rescue workers reported an increase in debilitated respiratory function between 2002 and 2004. A 2008 report by New York City's Department of Health indicated that up to 70,000 people might have long term health problems due to the dust. The findings were the result of the city's health registry of September 11 first responders, residents, and others (Wayne & Collins, 2006).

Apparently, out of at least 100,000 eligible, fewer than 14,000 have registered, as reported by the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. The final registration deadline for September 11-related workers' compensation was August 14, 2007. On June 11, 2007, Mayor Bloomberg appointed Jeffrey Hon as World Trade Center health ...