Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program: B Reader Decertification and Autopsy Payment

With this rulemaking, HHS revises the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (Program) regulations by adding a provision to allow NIOSH to suspend or revoke B Reader certification for any B Reader suspected of violating the B Reader Code of Ethics or routinely providing chest radiograph classifications in practice that are determined by the Program to be inaccurate. In addition to the B Reader provisions, HHS also amends existing regulatory text to allow compensation for pathologists who perform autopsies on coal miners at a market rate, on a discretionary basis as needed for public health purposes.

To view the notice and related materials, visit https://www.regulations.govexternal icon  and enter CDC-2019-0088 in the search field and click “Search.”