Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) introduced the Caring for Coal Miners Act on Tuesday to ensure continued health care coverage for miners in danger of losing their benefits due to the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Company.
The proposed bill lists Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as cosponsors.
“It is critical that we protect the health care benefits of the thousands of Kentucky miners who have worked hard their entire careers to earn those benefits,” Whitfield said. “That is why I have introduced the Caring for Coal Miners Act to ensure that the hardworking miners who took to the mines day in and day out don’t lose the health care that they have rightfully earned.”
Patriot Coal Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2012. The company said that the bankruptcy could impact the health care benefits of approximately 1,500 people and their families in Whitfield’s district.
A bankruptcy court recently ruled that Patriot Coal is authorized to transition retirees into a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association.
Whitfield said there is uncertainty regarding the solvency and availability of the VEBA.
The proposed legislation addresses the uncertainty by making miners at risk of losing their health care benefits eligible for United Mine Workers of America’s 1993 Benefit Plan.
“It is important that as we continue to address the complicated issues that resulted from the bankruptcy of Patriot Coal Company that we find the best solutions moving forward,” Capito said. “The Caring for Coal Miners Act ensures continued health care coverage for the retirees who are in danger of losing their benefits. It is also an important step forward in protecting the benefits that were promised to hardworking miners in states like West Virginia and Kentucky.”