Updated 12/13/2008 05:22 PM
Feds May Change 9/11 Health Programs
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Two local lawmakers said Saturday that federal health officials are planning major changes to September 11th health and treatment programs.
City Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services accusing the agency of secretly working to take treatment programs away from the fire department and Mount Sinai Medical Center.
They say the agency is working on a contract that would put the programs under the control of a company outside the New York area and require 9/11 patients to pay upfront for treatment that is now covered.
The patients would be reimbursed later on.
About 50,000 people in the New York area are enrolled in 9/11 programs, with 16,000 of them getting care through the fire department, Mount Sinai and five area hospitals.