Here is the December update from our Government Affairs department
Federal Legislation and Regulation
- H.R. 921: The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, has 103 co-sponsors, and the Senate version, S. 689, has seven co-sponsors.
- H.R. 829: The SAFE PLAY Act, has 43 co-sponsors, and the Senate version, S. 436, has one co-sponsor.
- H.Res. 112: The Secondary School Student Athletes’ Bill of Rights, has 34 co-sponsors, and S. Res. 83 has one co-sponsor.
Contact your member of Congress to ask for support on these bills!
Congress passed a bipartisan rewrite of the Elementary Schools and Secondary Education Act. NATA and the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) have been working with Senator Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Capps (D-CA), the key sponsor of the SAFE PLAY Act, over the course of the last several months to have key provisions from their legislation included in the education bill. We secured some strong language in the Senate passed version of the education bill and it was modified by the Conference Committee.
The Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing to examine H.R. 921, the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, which is sponsored by Representative Guthrie (KY). H.R. 921 clarifies medical liability rules for athletic trainers and medical professionals to ensure they are properly covered by their malpractice insurance while traveling with their athletic teams to other states.
Clark Simpson has continued to work on the Third Party Reimbursement Pilot. Recent activity has focused on advocacy with payors and preparation for the 2016 WATA Athletic Training Business and Third Party Reimbursement Symposium. The pilot states continue to make progress and preliminary data will be available in January 2016.
State Legislative Affairs
In New Hampshire a bill to de-regulate athletic training has been filed.
Members in New Hampshire are working diligently to prevent the bill from passing. Members in both Louisiana and Ohio are closely monitoring bills which would expand scope for PT’s. Both state associations are evaluating the bills to determine if passage of the bill would negatively impact the athletic training profession and each state is crafting legislative strategies to address any concerns.
In Massachusetts efforts are under way to update the scope of practice act. The proposed changes would bring the law up to date to reflect the expansion of practice settings in the profession.
The state regulatory board in Delaware proposed changes to regulations relating to PT’s and AT’s, which could be open for public comment in January. DATA intends to provide comments and encourage individual members to do so as well.
