RECA or the White Card? The choice can be permanent.
If you were onsite at a test, these two programs can be an either-or. Federal law says a person may not receive EEOICPA compensation for cancer and also receive compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Accepting a RECA section 4 award is a choice, and for that cancer it can be a permanent one.
One law, one sentence, and it decides a great deal.
42 U.S.C. § 7385j: an individual may not receive compensation or benefits under the EEOICPA compensation program for cancer and also receive compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. There is one exception, at § 7384u, and it is the uranium-worker route described below.
RECA section 4 covers downwinders and onsite participants. Accepting a section 4 award is treated as an election — the choice of one remedy over the other — and it closes EEOICPA compensation for that cancer.
Alara does not advise on this choice and cannot. It is a home health agency, not an authorized representative. Before deciding, talk to an authorized representative or the Las Vegas Resource Center, which helps at no charge: (702) 697-0841.
One is a cheque. The other is a cheque and a lifetime of medical coverage.
This is the part that decides it for many former Test Site workers, and it is rarely laid out side by side.
Taking RECA does not close everything, and filing is not the same as accepting.
A non-cancer illness is a separate question. Someone who has accepted a RECA section 4 award may still be eligible under EEOICPA Part E for a non-cancerous condition, as a Department of Energy contractor or subcontractor employee. Chronic lung disease, chronic beryllium disease and silicosis are not cancer. If that describes the worker, a claim may still be open.
Filing with the Department of Justice is not the same as accepting the award. The Department of Labor has treated a claimant who filed under RECA and declined the section 4 award — with the declination confirmed by the Department of Justice — as not barred from EEOICPA cancer compensation. Which door you are standing in matters, and it is worth knowing before the cheque is signed.
Nothing here is legal advice or a determination. The Department of Justice administers RECA, the Department of Labor administers EEOICPA, and each decides its own claims. This page describes what the law says so the decision is made with it in view.
Uranium workers are the one group who get both.
RECA section 5 covers uranium miners, millers and ore transporters. For that group, § 7384u makes an accepted RECA award a route into EEOICPA rather than a bar to it: it can open an additional payment and the medical benefit. If uranium work is what made you sick, the two programs are not an either-or.
Nothing, until the benefit exists. Then the care.
Alara is a Nevada-licensed home health agency. It does not file claims, does not represent claimants, and has no part in this decision. What it does is provide the skilled nursing and aide care that an accepted EEOICPA claim pays for at home.
If you already have a White Card and want to know what it covers at home, a case review answers that. If you are still deciding between the two programs, the Resource Center and an authorized representative are the right people, and their help is free.
What people ask first.
Can I receive both RECA and EEOICPA for the same cancer?
No. 42 U.S.C. § 7385j says a person may not receive EEOICPA compensation or benefits for cancer and also receive compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The exception at § 7384u covers RECA section 5 uranium workers, who can receive both.
I accepted a RECA award years ago. Is EEOICPA closed to me entirely?
Not necessarily. Accepting a RECA section 4 award bars EEOICPA compensation for that cancer, but a non-cancerous condition is a separate question. A Department of Energy contractor or subcontractor employee may still be eligible under Part E for a covered non-cancer illness.
Does RECA pay for home health care?
No. RECA section 4 is a one-time compensation payment and includes no medical benefit. The medical coverage that pays for skilled home health comes from an accepted EEOICPA claim.
Who can advise me on which to choose?
An authorized representative, or the Department of Labor Resource Center in Las Vegas, which helps at no charge on (702) 697-0841. Alara is a home health agency and does not advise on this choice.
A nurse reads it, not a form.
A case review takes a few minutes and needs no records, no claim number and no appointment. Nothing here is a determination of eligibility.
RECA — who qualifies → What the White Card is → Nevada Test Site White Card guide →