Editor’s note: The following are excerpts from a Flint Democracy Defense League flyer
FLINT, MI — The asbestos exposure in Libby, Montana, caused by W.R. Grace Company, whose vermiculite mine poisoned the entire region, left thousands of people, not just the miners, suffering and dying.
Libby’s Medicare pilot program was done under Section 10323 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that amended the Social Security Act, Section 1881, to include Section 1881A, Medicare Coverage for Individuals Exposed to Environmental Health Hazards.
When President Obama declared a State of Public Health Emergency in Flint in 2016, Governor Snyder could have petitioned the Feds to provide the same Medicare coverage. Instead he pressed the Feds to expand Medicaid coverage to children and young adults under the age of 21 and to pregnant women. The Obama Administration quickly approved the request. This expansion was done under Section 1115 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Lead poisoning can be toxic for all adults, not just children.
Libby’s Medicare expansion has no age restrictions and does not end as the asbestos-poisoned residents grow older, at least those who survive the poisoning. We had a special Medicaid Expansion for a while in Flint which covered at least 15,000 more residents, but that program has ended.
We must demand that all poisoned people are equal and that the Medicare pilot program that was secured for Libby must be enacted for poisoned Flint residents.
We deserve Expanded Medicare for everyone impacted by the decisions made by our government!
