Michael Barasch’s law office was down the street from the World Trade Center. When the Twin Towers went down nearly 24 years ago, he said he was one of the people who ran uptown — away from the scene — through the thick wall of smoke and debris. But he spent the following two decades representing the people whose lives were forever changed that day.
And those two decades were a fight — a fight to get people who were suffering from an incredible range of illnesses and cancers the healthcare and financial support they need to take care of themselves and their families. Some legislators have this sense that caring for folks affected by the toxic debris of 9/11 is a New York issue. But it’s not. Michael now has clients in just about every single state. The people downtown that day didn’t stay downtown.
I wanted to talk to Michael today because the so-called Big Beautiful Bill has slashed funding for the CDC by over 55% and reorganized HHS, which will leave the people whose lives were changed forever that day struggling to find and afford a doctor. The waitlist for them to see a doctor has increased to eight months.
For an aggressive cancer, that wait can be the difference between life and death.
Politicians always remember the victims on 9/11 each year, but if that’s the only day they think about them, they’ll never get the care they deserve.
Watch the conversation and share it. We need to make this issue visible to those who have the power to do something about it. Protecting our most vulnerable victims of 9/11 should be a gimme.
How Trump's Cuts Are Going to Kill 9/11 First Responders
Michael Barasch represented firefighters early in his career. So when 9/11 happened, he became one of their most forceful allies in the battle to get the health care they deserved. In the years that followed, first responders have suffered from dozens of cancers as a result of their heroism.
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