To Continue Treatment
Ask President For 9/11 Health Funds

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Members of New York's Congressional Delegation are calling on President Bush to include 9/11-related health funding in his 2008 budget.

CAROLYN B. MALONEY: Sees crisis looming.

Speaking at a press conference Dec. 19, U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney said a "crisis" loomed as existing funds dried up.

"We need a commitment that the president will make 9/11 health a priority and include comprehensive funding in his next budget," she said.

Allocated $115M

The Federal Government had previously put $40 million into a fund to treat rescue workers, first-responders, volunteers and others who fell ill after helping with 9/11 clean-up and recovery.

That money, along with an additional $75 million secured last year to pay for health-care expenses like medications and treatments, could run out in the next few months, Ms. Maloney said, even though disbursement did not start until October.

"We cannot pull out the rug from underneath those who are suffering," said Rep. Vito Fossella, whose Staten Island/Southwest Brooklyn district is home to many firefighters and Emergency Medical Service workers.

According to officials overseeing the two major health monitoring and treatment programs in New York, current spending rates would deplete the funds by spring or summer.

VITO FOSSELLA: 'Can't pull the rug out.'

That puts the ongoing coverage for treatment of thousands of patients with 9/11-related injuries in jeopardy.

New estimates from Federal officials place the cost of treating all workers who responded on 9/11 in excess of $250 million annually.

High Expected Costs

Although several Democratic legislators have said they'll make 9/11 health a priority in the new Congress, there's no indication where the money will come from.

According to figures published in last week's New York Times, the Federal Government estimate includes $163.6 million in direct medical expenses for 19,200 patients: $91.2 million for 9,600 patients with respiratory or digestive disorders, $58 million for 8,000 patients with 9/11-related mental illnesses and $14.4 million for 1,600 patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Medications account for more than half of the treatment cost.

There are also an estimated $49.1 million a year in administrative costs, $6 million for translation services and an as-yet-undetermined figure for "emerging issues" that could range from autoimmune diseases to certain cancers.

U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton last week said the incoming Congress would have to make difficult decisions.

"I am not going to say where the money should come from, I'm merely saying that this should be a national priority. It is not just a New York priority," she told the New York Times.

Dr. John Howard, the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has been asked to formulate a Federal response to 9/11 health issues. He, along with Dr. John O. Agwunobi, the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, is a co-chair on a 9/11 task force investigating funding and other issues.

Advocates and elected officials from New York worried that Federal estimates on costs might not be available for another month or two, coming too late to be

included in President Bush's budget presentation that's expected in early February.