For more than two decades, the Center for Asbestos-Related Disease (CARD) has been the lifeline for thousands of Libby, Montana residents diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Those patients suffer the long-term consequences of one of the largest public health disasters in American history, and when CARD closes at the end of August, they’ll be left wondering where to turn for the specialized care that has kept many of them alive.
Mesothelioma Screenings Caught Disease Early for Thousands of Libby Residents
Since the year 2000, the CARD clinic has provided screenings and follow-up care for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. Between 2011 and 2024, it saw nearly 6,000 new patients for screenings and completed more than 15,000 screenings for both new and returning patients. Those screenings have saved lives, but now the clinic is slated to close.
Despite its long record of invaluable service to the Libby community, the CARD clinic is closing after two devastating legal blows. First, after the jury in a BNSF Railway lawsuit found the clinic liable under the False Claims Act, it faced a $3.3 million debt, and when the clinic filed for bankruptcy to protect its assets, BNSF seized property. Then in June 2026, the CDC notified the clinic that the federal grant that funded nearly all its operating revenue would not be renewed. All clinic property except patient records is expected to transfer to BNSF at closure, and patients are left wondering where to turn for care.
Mesothelioma Patients See Uncertain Future in Libby
The CDC has published a request for information for programs interested in continuing asbestos screening services and mesothelioma care in Libby. The agency anticipates that continuation will require $3 to $4 million annually. Mesothelioma patients and those at risk say that the CARD clinic offered specialized monitoring and served as a community anchor that understood what Libby amphibole asbestos has done and continues to do to the families who breathed it in their own homes. How long the gap between CARD’s closure and any new program will last remains entirely unknown.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
