# Energy Workers Health Improvement and Compensation Fund Act

This bill creates a new fund to help energy workers and people living near oil and gas sites pay for medical expenses related to health problems caused by air pollution from the energy industry. The money comes from oil and gas companies themselves, which would be required to contribute based on how much they pay their top executives.

Here's how it works: Large oil and gas companies (those making more than $50 million a year) would have to pay into the fund each year an amount equal to whatever their ten highest-paid employees earned in total compensation. So if a company's top ten executives collectively made $100 million, the company would pay $100 million into the fund. If a company doesn't pay the full amount, it faces a 10 percent penalty on top of what it owes. Companies can also voluntarily contribute extra money if they choose to.

The fund would then reimburse eligible workers and their family members for medical costs not covered by insurance—things like copayments and out-of-pocket expenses. The covered health conditions include asthma, heat-related illness, and other respiratory or heart diseases linked to air pollution from oil and gas operations. To qualify, a person either needs to have worked at or near an oil and gas site for at least a year, or lived within 20 miles of one for at least a year. Family members of workers who live near these sites can also claim benefits. Claims would be processed in the order they're received, with money paid out as the fund receives it.