Two programs, one confusion.
The names sound related and the paperwork overlaps, so people reasonably assume they are two halves of one thing. They are not.
- The WTC Health Program provides medical care for conditions certified as 9/11-related. It is health coverage: treatment, monitoring, and care at home when prescribed and approved.
- The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund pays compensation for those same conditions. It is money, not care.
Certification through the Health Program supports both. That shared root is exactly why the two get mistaken for each other.
Why this costs families real money.
The pattern is consistent. Somebody enrolls in the Health Program after a diagnosis, receives treatment, and understandably concludes that the 9/11 paperwork has been dealt with. Years pass. Nobody mentions the Fund, because the Health Program is a health program — it treats you, it does not audit whether you have claimed compensation elsewhere.
Using one program is not a decision about the other. It is usually not a decision at all — just a door nobody pointed at. 9/11 responders and survivors in Nevada →
What each one asks of you.
The Health Program asks a medical question: is this condition WTC-related, and is this treatment medically necessary for it? Enrollment has no deadline, and conditions can be certified as they develop.
The Fund asks a compensation question, and it runs on its own rules, its own forms and its own timing. Those rules are not the Health Program’s rules, and they are not something to work out from a web page at midnight.
Who should help with a Fund claim.
Not us, and we want to be direct about that. We do not file Victim Compensation Fund claims. We are a home care agency, not a law firm.
Fund claims are usually filed by attorneys who specialize in them, and whose fees for this work are capped by law. That cap is worth knowing before you call anyone, because it means the fee question is far more constrained here than in ordinary legal work. Ask any attorney you speak with to explain how they are paid on a Fund claim, and compare the answer against that cap.
What we will do.
If it looks like you have a certified condition and have never approached the Fund, we will say so and tell you what kind of help to look for. That is the end of our involvement in it, and there is no referral arrangement behind the advice.
What we can help with directly is the health side: enrollment, getting conditions certified as they develop, and care at home in Nevada when a physician prescribes it and the Program approves it. All of the guidance is free.
The practical order of operations.
- Get enrolled in the Health Program if you are not.
- Get your conditions certified — and keep certifying new ones as they appear.
- Use the care. It is covered at no cost to you for certified conditions.
- Separately, find out whether the Fund applies, with help from an attorney who does that work.
Steps one through three are ours to help with. Step four is not, and any home care agency that tells you otherwise is telling you something worth checking.
A note for spouses and families.
This lands on households, not just on the person who was there. If your husband or wife was the responder and is now the one who is sick, both programs may still be relevant, and the paperwork tends to fall to whoever is already doing the caregiving. Bring what you have to a call and we will map it, including the parts we cannot do.
Not sure where your household stands? Start with a few questions about your history and your care.
Common questions.
Is the Victim Compensation Fund the same as the WTC Health Program?
No. They are separate programs. The WTC Health Program provides medical care for certified conditions. The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund pays money for those conditions. Certification through the Health Program supports both.
Can I use both programs?
They are separate, and using one does not stand in for the other. Many families have claimed one and never approached the other.
Does Alara file Victim Compensation Fund claims?
No. We are a home care agency, not a law firm, and we do not file Fund claims. Those claims are usually filed by attorneys who specialize in them and whose fees for this work are capped by law.
What does the Health Program cost me?
There are no copays, deductibles, or out-of-pocket costs for medically necessary treatment of certified WTC-related conditions.
Sources: CDC, World Trade Center Health Program · September 11th Victim Compensation Fund.