Warner, Kaine, Hickenlooper, Fetterman Release GAO Report Highlighting Gaps In Black Lung Benefits for Miners and Families Gaps In Black Lung Benefits for Miners and Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and John Fetterman (D-PA) announced the release of a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the adequacy of black lung benefits to meet the income and health care needs of disabled miners and their families. The senators requested the report from the GAO in March 2023 in order to inform policy aimed at helping coal miners and their families in the Appalachian region.

"For years we have heard from coal miners and their families about how hard it is to secure federal black lung benefits and how it's often not enough to support their families. As miners in central Appalachia get sicker and at younger ages, we are grateful GAO accepted our request to examine the benefits they receive once they do get sick," the senators said. "GAO also confirmed what we have heard for years: miners face drawn-out, years-long fights to secure black lung benefits, the spouses and families left behind often struggle to access the survivor benefits they're owed, and benefit amounts are too low for many families to make ends meet. Although we're glad the Department of Labor agreed to provide more oversight of the medical benefits that mine operators provide, Congress must still enact legislation to ensure miners receive the benefits they need to support themselves and their families once they're too sick to continue working in the mines."

Sens. Warner, Kaine, and Fetterman have introduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act and the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, bills that would remove barriers to benefits and ensure that miners and their families are properly compensated. The senators previously issued a statement on the Trump administration's decision to pause enforcement of a Department of Labor rule to protect miners from silica dust, which is contributing to a significant uptick in severe black lung disease, particularly among younger miners in their thirties and forties.

The report included feedback from focus groups with 64 miners to gather their opinions on the application process and benefits received due to black lung disease. There was a total of six focus groups with miners in the four states with the largest numbers of Black Lung Benefits Program beneficiaries: Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The one key recommendation focused on miners' difficulty accessing medical benefits - particularly when those benefits were the responsibility of mine operators rather than the Department of Labor (DOL). After hearing repeated concerns in focus groups, the GAO recommended that DOL collect information on and monitor the extent to which responsible mine operators are providing required medical benefits. The DOL agreed with the recommendation and said it will add questions about medical benefits to its survey of miners.

Other takeaways from the report include:

• In 2024, about 16,000 miners and their survivors were beneficiaries of the Black Lung Benefits Program, with half being living miners and the other half being surviving family members of deceased miners. Eighty percent resided in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Ninety percent were age 62 or older, and 10 percent were under age 62.

• GAO noted that miners in most focus groups suggested changes such as increasing the benefit amount, improving benefits for survivors, and expediting the application process.

• Twenty-four percent of federal black lung benefits beneficiaries under age 62 received only federal black lung benefits payments, which average about $13,400 annually, well below the federal poverty line. Sixty-one percent of younger miners received both federal black lung benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance, which can still be "below the average annual wages of extraction miners in their state." At least one miner in all six focus groups said that the benefit payments did not provide enough money for them to make ends meet and that "miners in most groups recommended raising the benefit amount."

• Appealed claims could take more than three years to close, and miners expressed frustration with the length of the process. GAO noted that "miners in most groups described the financial strain of the application process, such as paying for more testing to support an application" and that "miners in most groups described appeals judges who had limited knowledge of mining." Of the nearly 53,000 closed miner claims filed from January 2013 through mid-August 2024, GAO identified 11 claims that took more than 10 years to close. GAO heard from black lung clinics about how challenging it can be for a surviving spouse to prove their partner died of black lung if the miner had not already been approved for benefits. GAO found that among miners whose claims were ultimately approved by mid-August 2024 and who died between January 2013 and mid-August 2024, 2,620 died before their claim was closed. Many received interim benefits.

• The potential need to repay interim benefits creates uncertainty for miners. Only a small number of claims (less than 1 percent) are denied after an appeal, but when that happens, miners must repay those interim benefits. GAO found that while some families use these benefits, others are afraid to spend them.

• GAO acknowledged the growing concern about worsening outcomes from silica exposure: "According to one of [the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's] studies, between 1999 and 2016, the average years of lost life expectancy attributable to black lung disease increased from 8.1 to 12.6 years, likely due to increase disease severity resulting from cutting through rock to reach thinner coal seams"

• GAO found that cases of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) are increasing. PMF is the most severe and disabling form of black lung disease and may affect younger miners more than other forms of the disease.

Read the full report here.

###