A new report from the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and Appalachian Voices finds that the cost of living continues to outpace federal black lung disability benefits for miners with black lung disease and their families. Congressional action is urgently needed to update these monthly benefit payments to account for the increased cost of living across the United States. 

As the buying power of these monthly disability benefits continues to decline, new data from 2025 finds that across coal mining communities where black lung beneficiaries are located, benefit payments are more than three to four times below the average monthly cost of living for a miner and dependent.