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H H S Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

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Black Lung Clinics Program

Program Overview

Black Lung Clinics receive grant funding from HRSA to seek out and provide services to coal miners, whether they are currently involved in mining or not. Services are available to patients and their families regardless of their ability to pay.

Services include

  • Outreach,
  • Primary care (including screening, diagnosis and treatment),
  • Patient and family education and counseling (including anti-smoking education),
  • Patient care and coordination (including individual patient care plans for all patients and referrals as indicated), and 
  • Pulmonary rehabilitation.

The clinics also provide educational programs to help respiratory disease patients and their families cope with their disease, improve their breathing and endurance, and improve the quality of their lives.

Services may be provided either directly by grantees or through formal arrangements with appropriate health care providers, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers, hospitals, state health departments, mobile vans and clinics.

Eligibility 

To find out if you are eligible for treatment or to ask about becoming a grantee, please contact your nearest Black Lung Clinic.

Authorizing Legislation

The Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-239), as amended February 27, 1985, reinstated the authority of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support clinics to evaluate and treat coal miners with respiratory impairments. Read the Legislation (PDF - 61 KB)