'Bureaucratic cruelty': 9/11 responders and survivors shaken by US health cuts

Source: The Guardian

Sun 13 Apr 2025 08.00 EDT
Last modified on Sun 13 Apr 2025 13.31 EDT


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.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/13/trump-health-cuts-world-trade-center-program-911