Kentucky lawmakers didn’t consult with feds about limiting black lung claims reviewers
The federal agency that trains, tests and certifies the physicians who read X-rays and diagnose the deadly coal miners’ disease black lung said it was not consulted by Kentucky lawmakers in the 14 months they considered a new law that mostly limits diagnoses to pulmonologists working for coal companies.
As NPR and Ohio Valley ReSource first reported, the new Kentucky law bans certified radiologists from reading X-rays used to award state black lung compensation. That leaves out radiologists with extensive experience in reading chest X-rays and diagnosing black lung, a disease caused by inhalation of coal and silica dust.