complete copy of the examining physician’s report. The ex-
amining physician’s report shall— 
‘‘(1) be in writing; and 
‘‘(2) set out in detail the findings of such physi-
cian, including any diagnoses and conclusions, the 
results of any diagnostic imaging tests, and any 
other tests performed on the miner. 
‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.—In any claim for benefits under 
this title, each party shall provide all other parties in the 
proceeding with a copy of all medical information devel-
oped regarding the miner’s physical condition relating to 
such claim, even if the party does not intend to submit 
the information as evidence. Such medical information 
shall include the opinion of any examining physician, and 
any examining or nonexamining physician’s interpreta-
tions of radiographs or pathology. 
‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate 
regulations regarding the disclosure of medical informa-
tion under this section, and such regulations may establish 
sanctions for noncompliance with this section.’’. 
SEC. 102. ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND MEDICAL EXPENSES PAY-
MENT PROGRAM. 
Part A of the Black Lung Benefits Act (30 U.S.C. 
901 et seq.), as amended by section 101, is further amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 404. ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND MEDICAL EXPENSES PAY-
MENT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Black Lung Bene-
fits Improvement Act of 2015, the Secretary shall 
establish a payment program to pay attorneys’ fees 
and other reasonable and unreimbursed medical ex-
penses incurred in establishing the claimant’s case, 
using amounts from the fund, to the attorneys of 
claimants in qualifying claims. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CLAIM.—A qualifying claim 
for purposes of this section is a contested claim for 
benefits under this title for which a final order has 
not been entered within one year of the filing of the 
claim. 
‘‘(3) USE OF PAYMENTS FROM THE FUND.— 
Notwithstanding 
any 
other 
provision 
of 
law, 
amounts in the fund shall be available for payments 
authorized by the Secretary under this section. 
‘‘(b) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.— 
‘‘(1) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—If a claimant for ben-
efits under this title obtains a proposed decision and 
order from a district director with an award of bene-
fits for a qualifying claim, or an award for a quali-
fying claim before an administrative law judge, the 
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district director may approve attorneys’ fees for 
work done before such director in an amount not to 
exceed $1,500 and an administrative law judge may 
approve attorneys’ fees for work done before such 
judge in an amount not to exceed $3,000. The Sec-
retary shall, through the program under this section, 
pay such amounts approved. 
‘‘(2) MEDICAL EXPENSES.—If a claimant for 
benefits under this title obtains a proposed decision 
and order from a district director with an award of 
benefits for a qualifying claim, or an award for a 
qualifying claim before an administrative law judge, 
such district director and administrative law judge 
may each approve an award to the claimant’s attor-
ney of reasonable and unreimbursed medical ex-
penses incurred in establishing the claimant’s case in 
an amount not to exceed $1,500. The Secretary 
shall, through the program under this section, pay 
such amounts approved. 
‘‘(3) 
MAXIMUM.—The 
program 
established 
under this section shall not pay more than a total 
of $4,500 in attorneys’ fees nor more than $3,000 
in medical expenses for any single qualifying claim. 
‘‘(c) REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—In any case in 
which a qualifying claim results in a final order awarding 
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compensation, the liable operator shall reimburse the fund 
for any fees or expenses paid under this section, subject 
to enforcement by the Secretary under section 424 and 
in the same manner as compensation orders are enforced 
under section 21(d) of the Longshore and Harbor Work-
ers’ Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 921(d)). 
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM RULES.—Nothing in 
this section shall limit or otherwise affect an operator’s 
liability for any attorneys’ fees, medical expenses, or other 
allowable and unreimbursed expenses awarded by the dis-
trict director or an administrative law judge that were not 
paid by the program under this section. Nothing in this 
section shall limit or otherwise affect the Secretary’s au-
thority to use amounts in the fund to pay approved attor-
neys’ fees in claims for benefits under this title for which 
a final order awarding compensation has been entered and 
the operator is unable to pay. 
‘‘(e) NO RECOUPMENT OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—Any 
payment for attorneys’ fees or medical expenses made by 
the Secretary under this section shall not be recouped 
from the claimant or the claimant’s attorney.’’. 
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SEC. 103. CLARIFYING ELIGIBILITY FOR BLACK LUNG BEN-
EFITS. 
Section 411(c) of the Black Lung Benefits Act (30 
U.S.C. 921(c)) is amended by striking paragraphs (3) and 
(4) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) If x-ray, biopsy, autopsy, or other medi-
cally accepted and relevant test or procedure estab-
lishes that a miner is suffering or has suffered from 
a chronic dust disease of the lung, diagnosed as 
complicated pneumoconiosis or progressive massive 
fibrosis (pneumoconiosis that has formed an opacity, 
mass, or lesion whose greatest diameter exceeds 1 
centimeter), then there shall be an irrebuttable pre-
sumption that such miner is totally disabled due to 
pneumoconiosis, that the miner’s death was due to 
pneumoconiosis, or that at the time of death the 
miner was totally disabled by pneumoconiosis, as the 
case may be. A chest radiograph, which yields one 
or more large opacities (whose greatest diameter ex-
ceeds 1 centimeter), and would be classified in cat-
egory A, B, or C in the International Classification 
of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses by the Inter-
national Labor Organization, shall be sufficient to 
invoke the presumption, in the absence of more pro-
bative evidence sufficient to establish that the eti-
ology of a large opacity is not pneumoconiosis. 
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‘‘(4) If a miner was employed for 15 years or 
more in one or more coal mines, and if there is a 
chest radiograph submitted in connection with the 
claim under this title of such miner or such miner’s 
surviving spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, or de-
pendent and it is interpreted as negative with re-
spect to the requirements of paragraph (3), and if 
other evidence demonstrates the existence of a to-
tally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, 
then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that 
such miner is totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, 
that the miner’s death was due to pneumoconiosis, 
or that at the time of death the miner was totally 
disabled by pneumoconiosis. In the case of a living 
miner, a spouse’s affidavit may not be used by itself 
to establish the presumption under this paragraph. 
The presumption under this paragraph may be re-
butted only by establishing that such miner does 
not, or did not, have pneumoconiosis, or that no part 
of such miner’s respiratory or pulmonary impair-
ment or death was caused by pneumoconiosis.’’. 
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