Are some residents of a Montana county eligible for ‘Medicare-for-all’?
When Congress passed Obamacare in 2009, it also granted Medicare coverage to people who had been exposed to asbestos near the town of Libby in Lincoln County, Montana. A clause in the new health-care law enabled access to the federal health-insurance program, regardless of age, after many local residents had been diagnosed with asbestos-related disease.
In the 1920s, an insulation company began mining asbestos-tainted vermiculite, a mineral used in building insulation. The plant continued to operate until 1990. The Environmental Protection Agency began an investigation and site cleanup in 2000.
According to an asbestos-exposure advocacy group, an estimated 400 Libby residents died from exposure while thousands more suffered from related illnesses. Montana Sen. Max Baucus was an "unrelenting" advocate for assistance to affected residents until he retired in 2014.
