In addition, Congress has established a number of programs to compensate or assist victims of certain specific circumstances, including negligence, terrorism, and "acts of God." The programs fall, broadly, into three categories: (1) those that primarily limit compensation or assistance to specified groups of people , with little or no limitation on the types of injury that may be compensated (e.g., workers' compensation systems); (2) those that primarily limit compensation or assistance for specified types of injuries , with little or no limitation of the classes of individuals who may be compensated (e.g., the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program); and (3) hybrid programs, which limit both the classes of eligible individuals, and the compensable injuries or diseases (e.g., the Black Lung Program). These compensation programs display considerable diversity in program design and implementation. This report describes a number of federal programs that Congress established to compensate or assist individuals who have suffered physical or psychological harm as a consequence of specific events (including the actions of others), or who have suffered specific types of physical or psychological harm. First, several program attributes—which are used subsequently to describe the specific programs—are discussed in general. Next, selected compensation programs are presented in three groupings, as mentioned above: (1) programs to compensate specified groups of individuals; (2) programs to compensate for specified types of illness or injury; and (3) hybrid programs. Next, three veterans' compensation programs are presented. Veterans' disability compensation is based on establishing a connection between an illness or injury and military service. Congress has on three occasions granted a presumption of a service-connection for a specific group of veterans. A final section describes four additional federal assistance programs that do not fit into the above classifications, but that may nonetheless be of interest to policymakers: the Federal Tort Claims Act, Stafford Act emergency and disaster assistance, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program, and the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program. Eligibility or Participation of Health Care Providers

No restrictions. The MMTP is not explicitly authorized, but has received discretionary appropriations to pay for health care services for eligible individuals. Some Members of Congress have sought to establish explicit authority for the program.
Congress has established a number of programs to compensate or assist victims of certain specific circumstances, including negligence, terrorism, and "acts of God." Federal compensation programs can be described by certain common attributes. These include aspects of program administration; requirements for and determination of individual eligibility; eligibility of health care providers; types of benefits provided; whether certain diseases are presumed to be eligible for compensation; and the means by which the program is financed.
Though federal compensation programs display considerable diversity in these attributes, most can be classified into one of three categories: (1) programs that primarily limit compensation or assistance to specified groups of people, with little or no limitation of the types of injury that may be compensated; (2) programs that primarily limit compensation or assistance for specified types of injuries, with little or no limitation of the classes of individuals who may be compensated; and (3) hybrid programs, which limit both the classes of eligible individuals and the compensable injuries or diseases.
This report describes a number of federal programs that Congress established to compensate or assist individuals who have suffered physical or psychological harm as a consequence of specific events (including the actions of others), or who have suffered specific types of physical or psychological harm. First, several program attributes—which are used to describe the specific programs—are discussed in general. Next, selected compensation programs are presented in three groupings, as mentioned above. Next, three veterans' compensation programs are presented. Veterans' disability compensation is based on establishing a connection between an illness or injury and military service. Congress has on three occasions granted a presumption of a service-connection for a specific group of veterans. A final section describes four additional federal authorities or assistance programs that do not fit into the above classifications, but that may nonetheless be of interest to policymakers: the Federal Tort Claims Act, Stafford Act emergency and disaster assistance, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Program, and the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program (MMTP). The first three of these are prescribed in statute and may provide federal funds to eligible individuals to pay certain health care costs. The MMTP is not explicitly authorized, but has received discretionary appropriations to pay for health care services for eligible individuals. Some Members of Congress have sought to establish explicit authority for the MMTP.