Sunday, June 08, 2008
 Associated Press brings us the latest in the saga of those poor ew Yorkers who inhaled the rapidly-disintegrated World Trade Center towers: "As President Bush's health chief, Tommy Thompson proudly trumpeted millions of taxpayer dollars to help workers sickened by the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center, even amid complaints that his agency was not doing enough.
Now, Thompson's private company has won an $11 million contract to treat some of those same workers . . .
The contract awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is intended to track the health of 4,000 to 6,000 workers who live outside the New York City area, where a separate health monitoring program is in place. The CDC is part of the Health and Human Services Department, which Thompson headed in Bush's first term.
Internal e-mails obtained by the Associated Press show the one-year contract went to Logistics Health Inc., a La Crosse, Wis., company where Thompson is president.
While secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Thompson was pressed by New York lawmakers to take a more active and aggressive role in tracking and treating Sept. 11-related health problems. . .
A spokeswoman for Logistics Health did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The government has struggled to effectively track the health issues of ground zero workers who live outside New York. Advocates and some lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to establish a permanent, government-funded treatment program.
In the years since the 2001 attacks, studies show that workers who toiled at the site have had higher than normal rates of lung problems and post-traumatic stress. Others have complained of an increase in gastrointestinal disorders.
The CDC contract was awarded after the government received proposals from four different companies, including Thompson's, officials said. . . .
Logistics Health will provide annual examinations to World Trade Center responders around the country, diagnose and treat Sept. 11-related conditions and provide a pharmacy benefit to those responders.
----- Labels: 9/11, dust
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