Did you work or live near Ground Zero? It's not too late to sign up for the WTC Health Program & VCF

If you lived or worked near Ground Zero following 9/11, and never registered with the World Trade Center Health Program and/or the Victim Compensation Fund, it's not too late. You may have seen mention of a July 29, 2021 deadline, which applied to people with a 9/11 related illness certified by the WTCHP prior to July 29, 2019 who needed to file a VIctim Compensation Fund claim by 7/29/21. But if you never registered with the WTCHP, or are registered with the WTCHP and have not registered with the VCF, you can still do both.

World Trade Center Health Program

What does it cover? The Program provides no-cost medical monitoring and treatment for certified WTC-related health conditions to those directly affected by the 9/11 attacks in New York, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Who's eligible? People who lived, worked, went to school, or attended child or adult day care in the NYC Disaster Area on 9/11 or in the days, weeks, or months after are eligible. Also those who were present in the dust or dust cloud within the NYC Disaster Area on 9/11. See a map of the NYC Disaster area here.

How do I apply? Click here for the World Trade Center Health Program website with information on how to apply.

Victim Compensation Fund

If you lived and/or worked in the NYC Exposure Zone between Sept 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002 and have not registered with the Victim Compensation Fund, you should do so now.

What does it cover? "The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) provides compensation to individuals (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who were present at the World Trade Center or the surrounding New York City Exposure Zone; the Pentagon crash site; and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site, at some point between September 11, 2001, and May 30, 2002, and who have since been diagnosed with a 9/11-related illness. The VCF is not limited to first responders. Compensation is also available to those who worked or volunteered in construction, clean-up, and debris removal; as well as people who lived, worked, or went to school in the exposure zone." (vcf.gov)

Click here for instructions and registration deadlines.

More Info on VCF Registration and Claim Filing Deadlines

There are two deadlines in the VCF’s claim filing process: a Claim Filing Deadline and a Registration Deadline. It is important to distinguish between the two and be aware of which applies to your individual circumstances.  

The Claim Filing Deadline.

The “Never Forget the Heroes, James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act,” (“VCF Permanent Authorization Act”) fully funded the VCF and extended the VCF’s Claim Filing Deadline until October 1, 2090.  The Claim Filing Deadline is the same for everyone. Although the VCF encourages you to file your claim after you have been certified by the World Trade Center (“WTC”) Health Program for a 9/11-related physical health condition and as soon as the full scope of your claimed losses are known so that your claim for compensation can be reviewed as quickly as possible, the last date on which anyone can file a claim is October 1, 2090.

The Registration Deadline.

There is a separate deadline by which you need to register with the VCF.  Registration is not the same as filing a claim.  Registration preserves the right to file your claim in the future, waives no legal rights, and does not obligate you to file a claim. Registration serves only to alert the VCF that you may be a potential claimant; and it meets the legal requirement of timeliness set forth in the law.  The Registration Deadline is not the same for everyone.  It varies according to individual circumstances. For more information and deadlines, go to https://www.vcf.gov/