1-3 Black Lung Benefits Identification Card 1-2 4-5 State and Federal Black Lung Benefits 2 6 Social Security Black Lung Benefits 2 7 Covered Medical Services 3 8 Covered Prescription Drugs 3 9-10 Approval for Certain Services 4 11 Non-Covered Medical Services 4 12-16 Direct Billing by Medical Providers 5 17 Billing the Coal Company 6 Black lung disease is caused by breathing dust and is characterized by inflammation, coughing and damage to lung tissue. Black lung disease is the common name for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. We encourage you to get advice from an attorney or other qualified representative before submitting any additional medical evidence to the Department of Labor . Simple CWP: At this stage of black lung disease, the opacities are relatively small. Silicosis can cause progressive fibrosis in the lung with a significant decrease in lung function, especially in cigarette smokers. The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) is a U.S. federal law which provides monthly payments and medical benefits to coal miners totally disabled from pneumoconiosis (black lung disease) arising from employment in or around the nation's coal mines. MedicineNet does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Coal worker's pneumoconiosis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia Coal worker's pneumoconiosis — This form of pneumoconiosis is caused by inhaling carbon particles from coal, graphite, lamp black or carbon black. Black lung disease gets its name from the appearance of the lungs in miners who have inhaled coal dust particles—black. Thus far, there is no treatment for Pneumoconiosis or Black Lung Disease but physicians are able to treat the symptoms and complications of this occupational disease. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is a lung disease that results from breathing in dust from coal, graphite, or man-made carbon over a long time. The disease gets its name from a distinctive blue-black marbling of the lung caused by accumulation of the dust. The Black Lung benefits program has limitations on the amount of medical evidence which you or the coal company can give us for determining whether you are entitled to benefits. In short, regular exposure to coal dust can cause scarring in the lungs, which impairs the ability to breathe. The law also provides monthly benefits to a miner's dependent survivors if pneumoconiosis caused or hastened the miner's death. Pneumoconiosis or Black Lung Disease damages the lungs, inflames the walls of air sacs; and scars the lung tissues. See additional information . home / medterms medical dictionary a-z list / disease, black lung definition The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) is a type of federal workers' compensation benefits program that provides monthly payments and medical benefits to coal miners totally disabled from pneumoconiosis (black lung disease) arising from employment in or around the nation's coal mines.The Act also provides monthly benefits to a miner's dependent survivors if pneumoconiosis caused or … Considered an occupational lung disease, it is most common among coal miners. Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), commonly known as "black lung disease," occurs when coal dust is inhaled. Over time, continued exposure to the coal dust causes scarring in the lungs, impairing your ability to breathe. Black lung, also called Black-lung Disease, or Coal-workers’ Pneumoconiosis, respiratory disorder, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by repeated inhalation of coal dust over a period of years. 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