Black Lung Clinics Program

NEW - download the Program Expectations and Principles of Practice in PDF format.

The Black Lung Clinics Program is funded under the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-239), as amended February 27, 1985. It reinstated an authority of the Federal Mine and Safety Act for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support clinics to evaluate and treat coal miners with respiratory impairments. Administrative jurisdiction for this authority, designated as the Black Lung Clinics Program, was delegated by the Secretary to the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Division of Programs for Special Populations.

The overall goal of the program is to provide services to minimize the effects of respiratory impairments in coal miners and others with occupational related respiratory disease. The program provides funding to public and private non-profit entities for the operation of clinics that provide diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of active and retired coal miners with respiratory and pulmonary impairments.

The program provides grants to 16 public and private non-profit organizations, which provide specialized diagnosis and treatment services. Grantee 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.