The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill was a devastating event for the Gulf Coast economy, culture, and environment. When it occurred, it would have been extremely difficult to think that anything positive would result from the devastation and death. However, the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP), is part of the BP Medical Benefits Class Action Settlement is one such positive development.
Gulf Region Health Outreach Program
The GRHOP is aimed at bettering the health care situation in the Gulf, especially the many important elements of health care that the Gulf region lacks. It is funded through the $105 million dollars of the settlement. Its goal is to combine the health care efforts of the four Gulf states and four programs that share a common healthcare thread, quality health care in the Gulf region affected by the spill.
Who Can Benefit from the GRHOP?
The primary goal of the GRHOP is to provide medical services to the affected region’s residents that are uninsured and critically, medically underserved. How would you know if you can benefit from the GRHOP? If you were an oil spill cleanup worker or are a resident of Class members certain coastal and wetlands areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle you are eligible to receive services under the GRHOP.
What Does the GRHOP Do?
In essence, the GRHOP provides funding for five years to combat persistent medical conditions related to the spill and to medical institutions serving the affected region for five years. Class members are entitled to financial compensation for acute and chronic injuries related to oil exposure, healthcare consultation every three years for 21 years, and streamlined litigation procedures for class members who later display adverse physical conditions allegedly related to oil exposure.
Specifically, it provides funding to: The Louisiana Public Health Institute for the Primary Care Capacity Project to expand and improve access to quality health care; A quad-state consortium of Gulf state universities for the Mental and Behavioral Health Capacity Project designed to address behavioral and mental health needs of coastal citizens and provide mental health services; The University of South Alabama for the Community Health Worker Training Project for the training of community health workers who help Gulf residents understand and maneuver within the health care system; Tulane University School of Public Health for the Environmental Health Capacity and Literacy.
GRHOP’s Benefits to Class Members and the Gulf Coast
GRHOP funding has provided medical care and improved facilities in areas that desperately needed them. Physical and mental health care is now being provided to class members in areas that have never seen that level of care before.
Are you taking advantage of the benefits of the GRHOP that you may be entitled to as a class member? Consulting with an experienced oil spill attorney may clarify health care problems you are experiencing. Important deadlines, statutes of limitations, and filing requirements make consulting with an experienced BP oil spill attorney a vital step to protecting your health, your livelihood, and your rights if you have suffered as a result of the spill.
Contact Mississippi personal injury attorney Jonathan Barrett at Barrett Law immediately to protect your rights at (601)-790-1505.
Call attorney Barrett to set up a free initial consultation. The claims you may have related to the BP oil spill are not simple and you should not trust them to an attorney lacking the plaintiffs’ law and BP oil spill experience attorney Barrett possess. Call now to protect your livelihood and life.
