Mesothelioma patients could benefit from bill.

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) submitted a clause for the one thousand page health care reform bill that would enable patients to use Medicare for health risks that come from environmental contamination at work sites. This is in an effort to help the local people in his area that suffer from asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma.

Although he doesn’t mention it directly, The Libby asbestos site in Montana  is one of the public health emergency areas that is obviously part of what was behind creating this clause. It’s the only place in the United States to be designated as a public health emergency area due to a high rate of mesothelioma cases. Of course, it isn’t an easy feat to identify this in such an enormous piece of legislation.

Hundreds of people have died from mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos from The Libby, as well as thousands of others who suffer from respiratory and lung ailments. Medicare currently doesn’t provide the patient care that is needed and there are no funds available for the diagnostic tools needed. Senator Baucus believes that this clause will give Medicare the ability to help these patients, along with any future patients may come to be due to public health disasters.