Critically ill 9/11 first responders are being turned away from the program meant to save them
NEW YORK — A firefighter battling life-threatening pancreatic cancer was told this week he couldn’t begin chemotherapy. Two others with newly diagnosed cancers were also turned away.
All three are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program—a federally funded system created to care for the heroes and survivors of September 11, 2001. But right now, that system isn’t functioning.
“We had to postpone chemo for a firefighter this week,” said Dr. David Prezant, Chief Medical Officer for the New York City Fire Department and Director of the program. “He’s too young for Medicare. And this delay—it could cost him his life.”
The reason for the pause? A total breakdown in the program’s ability to approve new treatments, certify conditions, or even enroll new patients.
An internal email shared with ABC News confirmed the freeze: “We have been directed not to process any new certifications.”
A Broken System
For a 9/11 responder or survivor to receive care, two steps are required: first, they must enroll in the program. Then, they must have their illness formally certified by federal officials as being linked to exposure from 9/11.
That second step—certification—is crucial. Without it, patients can’t start treatment or access benefits, even if doctors are ready to act. To certify a condition, clinics submit medical evidence like lung scans or biopsy results to the program’s online portal.
But this week, the certification tab disappeared from the system entirely.
PHOTO: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrandspeaks at a press conference on April 6, 2025, calling on the Trump administration fully restore key staff for the World Trade Center Health Program. (Ron Adar/Sopa Images via Sipa USA via AP)
Prezant said the impact is immediate and devastating. “We can’t approve chemotherapy, lung transplants, or stem cell treatments. We can’t even add new patients.”
Behind the freeze is a storm of issues: staffing cuts, leadership confusion, and a funding gap Congress has yet to close. The program has lost nearly 20% of its workforce since April, after laying off 16 doctors, nurses, and staff—just months after another round of cuts in February, which were briefly reversed following public and bipartisan outrage.
And the leadership vacuum hasn’t helped. Dr. John Howard, the program’s long-time director, was removed earlier this year and then reinstated—at least partially. But according to the advocacy group Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, no one knows if he was fully restored to the legal role of administrator.
If he wasn’t, that alone would be enough to grind the program to a halt.
“It’s a clear sign that Dr. Howard hasn’t been fully reinstated,” Prezant said, pointing to the certification backlog. “Without his signature, nothing moves forward.”
Lives in Limbo
The World Trade Center Health Program serves over 150,000 people across all 50 states—double the number it supported in 2015. Many suffer from cancers, respiratory conditions, and other chronic illnesses directly linked to their time at Ground Zero.
Prezant said doctors had been working under a temporary approval process, helping patients while waiting on official certification. But even that emergency workaround was shut down this week.
“We’re stuck,” he said.
A bipartisan bill introduced in February—HR 1410—aims to close the program’s funding gap. But it’s been stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, patients are left in limbo.
“We don’t decide who qualifies,” Prezant said. “The rules are set by the federal government, and that’s by design—to protect against fraud. And it works.”
He pointed to FDNY data that proves the program saves lives: five years after a cancer diagnosis, 86% of patients enrolled in the program are still alive. That’s 20% higher than the survival rate among non-enrolled New Yorkers with the same conditions.
Still, that help is out of reach for anyone newly diagnosed.
“Honor the Promise”
The silence from Washington has been deafening. When NewsUniverse reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there was no immediate response. In a previous statement, a spokesperson claimed the program is “continuing to accept and review new enrollment applications and certification requests.”
But that directly contradicts what doctors and patients are experiencing on the ground.
“We’re not asking for anything new,” Prezant said. “Just what was promised under the law—that these responders would be taken care of, for life. That we wouldn’t turn our backs on them.”
He paused. “That promise saved lives. We need the government to keep it—before more are lost.”
This News Originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
