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Now, a company he leads has won a $11 million contract to treat some of those workers who responded to New York’s ground zero.
The contract awarded by the Centers for Disease Control is aimed at tracking the health of between 4,000 and 6,000 workers who live outside the New York City area, where a separate health monitoring program is in place. The CDC is part of the Health and Human Services Department, which Thompson headed in Bush’s first term.
Internal e-mails obtained by The Associated Press show the one-year contract went to Logistics Health, Inc. in La Crosse, where Thompson is president.
While health secretary, Thompson was pressed by New York lawmakers to take a more active and aggressive role in tracking and treating Sept. 11-related health problems.
“It is ironic that former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson’s firm won the contract to provide the services, given the history of delay from the Bush administration when he was secretary and now,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. “But I am glad these heroes are finally getting the help they deserve.”
Bill Vandervennet, chief operating officer for Logistics Health, said in a prepared statement:
“We are honored to help serve first responders to the 9-11 World Trade Center attacks. CDC awarded LHI the contract because of our proven experience and past performance at providing customer-focused comprehensive solutions. We offer, among many things, access to a national provider network for specialized occupational health exams and exceptional program management.”
The government has struggled to effectively track the health issues of ground zero workers who live outside New York. Advocates and some lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to establish a permanent, government-funded treatment program.
In the years since the 2001 attacks, workers who toiled at the site have had higher than normal rates of lung problems and post-traumatic stress. Others have complained of an increase in gastrointestinal disorders.
The CDC contract was awarded after the government received proposals from four companies, including Thompson’s, officials said. The contract went to Logistics Health based on “an evaluation of everything from cost to technical abilities to past performance,” CDC spokeswoman Bernadette Burden said.
Thompson’s company already provides some medical services for the Army.
Logistics Health will provide annual examinations to World Trade Center responders around the country, diagnose and treat Sept. 11-related conditions and provide a pharmacy benefit to those responders.
Late last year, the government halted an effort to organize health monitoring for ground zero workers spread around the U.S., saying the program could cost far more money than Congress has provided.
Estimates for how much treatment ground zero workers need — and how much that treatment will cost — vary widely. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have put the figure at about $400 million a year, but that includes treating the much larger group of patients who live in and around New York City.
According to New York City officials, some 400,000 people were exposed to ground zero dust, and 71,000 have enrolled in a long-term health monitoring program for people with and without health problems. Health advocates believe the number of people still ill years after their exposure is in the thousands.
Tribune reporter Terry Rindfleisch contributed to this report.
