Jun 18, 2015Montana Offers Free Concussion Insurance
While efforts to reduce concussions in high school athletes continue, the Montana High School Association (MHSA) is offering protection of a different sort. The association will provide concussion insurance for all of its athletes beginning this fall.
According to the Montana Standard, the MHSA policy will supplement the athletes’ health care insurance, which will be billed first in cases of injury. The MHSA secondary insurance policy will then cover unpaid deductibles and co-pays. There is no deductible for the MHSA plan, but there is a $25,000 annual maximum payout.
“When things do happen, we want it to be affordable for the families and want them feeling comfortable to get the proper treatments,” MHSA Executive Direector Mark Beckman told the Standard. “It’s important when injuries happen to have families feeling comfortable, and hopefully this helps to alleviate those concerns.”
The cost of the premiums is being paid by the member schools of the MHSA, 96 percent of whom voted to foot the bill. Montana joins Michigan as the first two states to offer such coverage.
“We’re very excited about this,” Beckman said. “It’s a proactive step and we’re glad that so many of our schools wanted to do this.”
