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Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act Signed into Law

On October 5, President Trump signed into law the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act (H.R 302/S. 808), which will reduce barriers to caring for student and professional athletes across state lines. According to a National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) press release, while this law advances safety practices for all sports medicine professionals, it will greatly impact athletic trainers who routinely travel with teams to provide preventive and immediate care.

Under the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act

  • The liability insurance coverage of a state-licensed medical professional shall cover the professional when treating an athlete, athletic team, or team staff member in a secondary state, and treats those medical services as if they were provided in the primary state.
  • The state-licensed medical professional shall be treated as satisfying any licensure requirements of the secondary state to the extent the licensure requirements of the secondary state are substantially similar to the licensure requirements of the primary state.

In addition to NATA, the legislation was supported by numerous physician and sports medicine organizations and was endorsed by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and every major U.S. professional sports leagues.

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