Libby asbestos victims have until Nov. 20 to enroll in the Libby Medical Plan Trust that will disburse $19.5 million set aside by W.R. Grace & Co. as part the company’s bankruptcy court settlement.

The trust is available to all people diagnosed with asbestos-related disease resulting from exposure linked to the former Grace vermiculite mine near Libby. Grace filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2001 in response to a growing number of asbestos claims.

Grace voluntarily created the Libby Medical Program in 2000 to provide coverage for certain asbestos-related illnesses. That program will be terminated as the trust takes over some measure of insurance coverage for asbestos victims.

A final plan on how to distribute the money has not yet been finalized, said Brian Bailey, a Kalispell independent health-care insurance specialist who is assisting in developing a trust distribution plan.

The proposal, Bailey said, is to reimburse people with asbestos disease $100 a month for their Medicare Part B premium and an additional $30 monthly for having adequate prescription or medical insurance coverage. These payments would be distributed twice a year, with a maximum annual payout of $1,560.

“Adequate” coverage could include Medicare Part D, a Medicare Advantage or Medicare supplement, Veterans Administration or employer-based coverage, according to an informational letter sent to patients by the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby.

At the proposed rate of compensation, the $19.5 million would last somewhere between three to four years, depending on how many eligible beneficiaries enroll, Bailey said.

Francis McGovern, a law professor at Duke University, has been named the independent trustee of the trust by the bankruptcy court. He has served as a mediator, court-appointed neutral facilitator and trustee in numerous asbestos and other mass tort cases.

Both McGovern and Bailey are serving without compensation.

A three-person trust advisory committee also is being set up. Trust beneficiaries will vote on committee candidates, who include Gayla Benefield, LeRoy Thom, Dave Stevenson and Donna Kaeding.

In a letter sent to potential trust beneficiaries, McGovern noted that the Grace Libby Medical Program established in 2000 and now being dissolved by the bankruptcy court settlement has been voluntary and could have been terminated by Grace at any time. Grace was paying more than $2 million annually in health-care expenses through that voluntary program.

McGovern held meetings with Libby asbestos victims in early September in Kalispell and Libby to explain and answer questions about the trust.

The CARD clinic also has been keeping asbestos patients abreast of the requirements to enroll in the trust and sent an informational sheet to clients.

People with asbestos-related disease resulting from the Libby exposure must complete an application questionnaire and attach proof of health insurance (such as a photocopy of an insurance card). Applications are available at the CARD clinic or by contacting Bailey Insurance at 752-7676 or emailing brian@baileyinsurance.com.

If you are represented by a lawyer, or if you are currently on the Grace Libby Medical Plan, trust overseers already have verification of your exposure and disease. If not, you must submit proof of your exposure in Libby and asbestos-related disease.

The CARD clinic is not involved in the set-up and administration of the trust, but is helping patients access trust benefits. The CARD clinic can be reached at (406) 293-9280.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.