Black lung benefits do not affect your Social Security disability payments and over 76 percent of people with black lung benefits also get their social security disability in full or retirement or survivor benefits in full.
The monthly benefits for black lung is $772.00 per month for a primary beneficiary, $1,158.00 per month for a primary beneficiary and one dependent, $1,352.00 per month for primary beneficiary and 2 dependents, and $1,545.00 per month for a primary beneficiary and 3 or more dependents.
Black lung does get worse over time and is irreversible.
The scarring of the lungs in black lung cause stiffness in the lungs that make it difficult to breathe and get the required oxygen into the bloodstream.
A black lung that has been exposed to coal dust has black nodules due to scarring and the black area will get bigger as the scarring of the lung becomes more severe.
However there is no test for diagnosing black lung.
A healthy lung looks pink in color.
There are 2 stages of black lung disease which is simple and complicated black lung disease.
Simple black lung disease which is stage 1 black lung disease means the lung has spots or scar tissue from the dust particles of the coal.
Complicated black lung disease which is stage 2 black lung disease is when a person has a lot of scarring on their lungs.
Black lung is considered an occupational lung disease and is most common among coal miners.
Black lung is not a form of cancer but overtime it can lead to lung cancer, COPD, tuberculosis and other complications.
Black lung is not the same as COPD nor is black lung the same as bronchitis, pneumonia or emphysema and they are all different conditions.
Black lung disease is on the rise because coal minors are having higher exposure levels to silica dust and because miners now also have to drill through more rock in order to get to the coal so they are around more rock dust that is finer and smaller which is more damaging to the lungs than coal dust by itself is.
Most people with black lung disease are older than 50 years of age.
The causes of black lung disease is breathing in coal dust from coal mining or being around coal and coal dust.
Over time the continued exposure to the coal dust causes the scarring in a persons lungs and impairs the persons ability to breathe and leads to black lung disease.
You cannot recover from black lung but treatments can help to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
The 3 symptoms of black lung disease are chest tightness, shortness of breath and coughing.
Coughing with black lung disease may sometimes bring up black sputum or mucus.
The symptoms of black lung disease might initially occur after strenuous activity, although as the black lung disease progresses they may also become present during rest.
Black lung disease is serious as it eventually causes death even with treatment.
Having black lung disease shortens your life expectancy by around 12 and 1/2 years.
Black lung is fatal unless you happen to get a lung transplant.
Black lung is terminal as there is no cure for black lung although treatments can help you live longer and you may require supplemental oxygen.
Unless you can get a lung transplant you will eventually die of black lung disease.
A person can live on average 12 and 1/2 years with black lung.
With black lung disease you may need supplemental oxygen and unless you have a lung transplant there is no other cure for black lung disease.
The medication that is used for black lung disease is Indacaterol which is a long acting beta2 agonist that is indicated for long term use and once daily maintenance bronchodilator treatment of airflow obstruction in people with black lung disease and COPD including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
You can get a lung transplant for black lung but it requires prior approval of the pre-transplant evaluation for lung transplants and the lung transplant itself for the black lung beneficiaries.
There's also no guarantee that a matching donor lung will be available but a donor lung or lungs are available that match then you can get a lung transplant for black lung and increase your lifespan.
Another name for black lung is coal workers' pneumoconiosis which is caused by inhaling coal mine dust.
One of the most common forms is black lung disease, also known as miner's lung.
Black lung disease is caused by breathing in coal dust.
Another is brown lung, which comes from working around dust from cotton or other fibers.
Other types of dusts that can cause pneumoconiosis include silica and asbestos.
Among people who work in coal mines, black lung disease is somewhat common.
Even after decades of knowing that coal mine dust can cause disease, black lung disease still affects about 16% of coal workers.
There is no treatment that can reverse the damage done by coal dust, but certain steps can help slow down progression of the disease, relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.
Once the severity of exposure has been determined, your doctor can determine the best course of action.
Medicare asks about black lung because if a Medicare eligible patient has an illness or injury that is not related to the black lung then the patient may submit a claim to Medicare.
However Medicare does not pay for any services that are covered under the Federal Black Lung Program.
Medicare and many other insurance carriers have a “workers' compensation exclusion clause.”
This means that they will not pay for treatment of occupational disease, like Black Lung disease, if a patient has medical coverage under a workers' compensation program or the Federal Black Lung Program.