The Trump administration is requiring coal-mining companies to provide more financial information about their ability to cover employees if they are diagnosed with black-lung disease after a federal oversight report determined bankrupt coal operators have shifted an estimated $865 million in liabilities to a federal fund covering workers’ medical expenses, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Labor Department announced new reporting requirements the same week the Government Accountability Office released a report finding the department has failed to ensure coal companies it authorized to self-insure their potential black-lung liabilities have set aside adequate collateral to cover miners’ medical costs in the event they are diagnosed with the respiratory disease. The Labor Department, which allows some coal companies to self-insure rather than secure commercial insurance, told House lawmakers Wednesday that it finalized an overhaul of its approval process last July. At that time, the department required all self-insured coal producers to apply for reauthorization under the new reporting requirements, Julie K. Hearthway, director of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, told lawmakers. An excise tax paid by coal producers is the primary source of funding for the trust, though the tax was scaled back at the end of 2018 and is scheduled to decrease further at the end of 2021, according to the GAO report, and the trust fund likely will need to borrow more public funds to continue providing benefits. The average cost of medical care for black lung was about $8,225 in fiscal year 2019, the report said.
