US coalminers face delays securing benefits as black-lung cases rise
US coalminers with black-lung disease are facing lengthy delays and appeals while cases of the illness reach their highest level in nearly 50 years. The difficulties have intensified as the Trump administration seeks to expand the coal industry, raising concerns that miners who are already seriously ill may struggle to receive financial and medical support.
The federal black-lung programme, created in 1969, provided benefits to about 22,500 miners, dependants and survivors in 2025, including 7,709 miner beneficiaries in 2024. Between 2013 and 2024, coal operators disputed 40% of approved claims; appealed cases typically lasted at least three years, while 390 initially approved claims were later rejected and 11 cases took more than a decade to close. Josh Armes, a retired miner with severe disease, has spent 12 years appealing the loss of his benefits.
- Black-lung cases are at a nearly 50-year high.
- Miners face years of benefit appeals and delays.
- Coal operators disputed 40% of approved claims.
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Black lung is a serious illness that affects coal miners who breathe in coal dust over many years of work. The disease causes lung damage that gets progressively worse, leaving sufferers struggling to breathe and unable to work. Since 1969, the US federal government has provided financial and medical benefits to miners and their dependants who develop this condition.
The system for claiming these benefits is complex and contested. When a miner submits a claim, coal operators can dispute it, and disagreements often lead to appeals that drag on for years. Data from the past decade shows that four in ten approved claims faced a dispute, and cases can take three years or longer to resolve; some miners have waited more than a decade for a final decision.
Cases of black lung have now reached their highest level in nearly five decades, yet miners seeking support are encountering increasing difficulties. Against this backdrop, the Trump administration is pursuing policies to expand the coal industry, which raises concerns that miners already struggling with severe illness may face further barriers in accessing the financial and medical help they depend on.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “‘Do you have to be dead?’: US coalminers plead for benefits as black-lung disease cases surge”.