Bill > S3491

This bill, the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2025, aims to streamline and improve the process for coal miners and their families to receive benefits for pneumoconiosis, commonly known as black lung disease, and to enhance protections against the disease. Key provisions include providing better assistance for miners and their families in filing claims, clarifying eligibility criteria by establishing a stronger presumption of disability if certain medical evidence like large opacities on chest X-rays or CT scans are present, and requiring the Secretary of Labor to develop medical evidence for claims, including authorizing CT scans when initial X-rays suggest pneumoconiosis. The bill also strengthens penalties for false statements and misrepresentations in claims, allows for the readjudication of cases where expert opinions on chest radiographs were previously discredited, and establishes a program to pay attorneys' fees and medical expenses for qualifying claims that are contested for over two years. Furthermore, it restores automatic cost-of-living adjustments to benefit payments, ensuring they keep pace with inflation, and improves the financial security of the Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund by requiring coal mine operators to meet stricter self-insurance requirements and increasing penalties for non-compliance. Finally, it establishes the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs as a distinct entity within the Department of Labor.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3491/all-info