Press & News

Members of Congress, after working closely with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), an organization of professional athletic trainers and supporters of the profession, recently introduced the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act. The new bill allows athletic trainers and other sports medicine professionals to be covered by medical malpractice insurance as they travel, with athletes under their care, outside of their primary licensure state.
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide medical health care to athletes. Currently, medical malpractice insurances are not required to provide coverage to athletic trainers and other sports medicine professionals for treating athletes, while outside of their primary licensure state. In other words, these medical professionals are at risk of professional loss if they treat an athlete across state lines. The introduced bill dissolves this issue and provides clarity to an unclear system by specifying such requirements.
“Facilities that have traveling athletic trainers or medical specialists for their athletes will benefit from this new bill.” said Joseph Rossi of EZFacility, a sports facility software provider located in Woodbury, New York. “Traveling is a big part of their job, and this bill affords them peace of mind.”
The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act expands liability insurance coverage to athletic trainer’s and sports medicine specialists to states outside of their primary licensure state. The bill affords these medical professionals the protection they deserve. If you would like to help, please contact your Congress representative and ask for their support of the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act. For more information, please visit http://www.nata.org/NR03182015.