Nearly 100 members of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) from 30 states will descend on Congress on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, for the organization’s annual Capitol Hill Day in an effort to educate members of Congress about the athletic training profession and request support from their senators for S. 808, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act. The legislation, which would protect athletic trainers and other sports medicine professionals who travel out of state with an athletic team to provide care, ultimately ensures that the medical care of athletes is not jeopardized. If the bill passes in the Senate, it will go to the president’s desk for final signature to make it a law.
The legislation, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 302 on January 9 of this year, clarifies medical liability rules for athletic trainers and other medical professionals to ensure they are properly covered by their malpractice insurance while traveling with athletic teams in another state. 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.
“The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act will guarantee that athletic trainers and other sports medicine professionals have full protection and coverage when they are at home or on the road across state lines,” said NATA President Scott Sailor, EdD, ATC. “Ensuring the best sports safety practices for athletes and providing the best quality of care is paramount.”
For additional information on the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, including a link to encourage U.S. senators to co-sponsor the bill, visit http://www.nata.org/sports-medicine-licensure-clarity-act.