U. S. House Passes the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, Now on to the Senate

Let it be known far and wide that on the evening of September 12, 2016 the House of Representatives passed the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act (H.R. 921).  This means that athletic trainers and medicine professionals have moved closer to receiving liability insurance while engaging in providing care to athletes from out of state. 

The bill clarifies medical liability rules to ensure that athletic trainers and other medical professionals are properly covered by their liability insurance while traveling with their athletic teams to out of state competitions.

The National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) expressed great pride in having championed the legislation that will benefit athletic trainers and the athletes that they serve and treat, it also supports other health care professionals all across the country. NATA said more than 400 athletic trainers representing 48 states met with members of Congress this past summer to lobby for the bill, resulting in 17 additional bipartisan co-sponsors.”

“Under the bill, health care services provided by a covered athletic trainer or other sports medicine professional to an athlete, athletic team or a staff member in another state will be deemed to have satisfied any licensure requirements of the secondary state. In addition, the providers will be able to treat injured athletes across state lines without the fear of incurring great professional loss. This bill reinforces the sports medicine team collaborative approach to care among physicians, athletic trainers and others. It is also vital in light of playoffs, championship games and college bowl games where teams travel a great distance with little notification.”

Kudos to the NATA, the sponsors of the bill and the many others that fought hard to seek passage. Let’s hope that the Senate passes the bill as well and the President signs it immediately upon hitting his desk.

The following sources contributed to the writing of this article.

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/governing-bodies/athletic-trainer-bill-passes-in-house-moves-to-senate.html?eid=276646588&bid=1527861

https://www.nata.org/blog/beth-sitzler/update-house-will-vote-hr-921-today

http://usatodayhss.com/2016/u-s-house-passes-bill-to-protect-athletic-trainers-traveling-with-teams-to-another-state

By Fred Cromartie, Ed. D.

Dr. Cromartie, is the Director of Doctoral Studies at the United States Sports Academy, and can be reached at cromarti@ussa.edu.