RECA is open again.
It reopened in 2025. If nuclear testing or uranium work made you sick, you have until December 31, 2027 to file for a one-time $100,000 payment.
A one-time payment for those who qualify, under the 2025 reauthorization. If the worker has passed, survivors may file.
The deadline to file. The window is not permanent, so if RECA may apply to you, file before it closes.
Amounts and covered areas are set by the U.S. Department of Justice and can change. Confirm the current figure and covered ZIP codes at justice.gov/civil/reca.
Who may qualify
RECA covers three groups. Two of them run straight through the Nevada Test Site, an hour from Las Vegas.
You lived in a covered area during the years of atmospheric testing and later developed a covered cancer. The 2025 law expanded the covered areas.
You were physically present at a U.S. atmospheric nuclear test, including the Nevada Test Site, and later developed a covered illness.
You were a miner, miller, ore transporter, or related worker in the uranium industry during the covered years. The 2025 law extended that window.
If you were onsite, read this before you accept anything
Federal law treats these two programs as a choice, and for a cancer claim the choice can be permanent.
42 U.S.C. § 7385j: a person may not receive EEOICPA compensation or benefits for cancer and also receive compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Accepting a RECA section 4 award — the downwinder and onsite-participant award — is treated as choosing one remedy over the other, and it closes EEOICPA compensation for that cancer.
This matters most to former Test Site workers, because the two are not equivalent. RECA section 4 pays $100,000 once and covers no medical care. An accepted EEOICPA claim can pay $150,000 under Part B, up to $250,000 more under Part E, and it opens lifetime medical coverage for the accepted condition — the White Card that pays for skilled home health at no cost to you.
Two things are commonly misunderstood. Accepting a section 4 award does not close a Part E claim for a non-cancer illness as a Department of Energy contractor or subcontractor employee. And filing with the Department of Justice is not the same act as accepting the award.
Alara does not advise on this choice and cannot. Before deciding, talk to an authorized representative or the Las Vegas Resource Center, which helps at no charge: (702) 697-0841.
RECA pays cash. It doesn’t pay for your care.
If uranium work made you sick and you receive RECA, you may also qualify for the White Card. The White Card covers medical care, including skilled home health at no cost to you, plus an additional payment. RECA is the money. The White Card is the care, and that is what Alara provides.
See what the White Card covers at homeNot sure where you stand?
RECA claims are filed with the Department of Justice, not with Alara. What we do is help you understand the White Card a RECA award can open, and provide the home health it covers.
If uranium work is what made you sick, a nurse can read that work and the illness together and tell you whether a White Card can be opened. If you were a downwinder or onsite at a test, RECA is compensation only — file with the Department of Justice before the deadline, and if you need care at home, ask us what else may cover it.