Following Venus Williams’ comment on health insurance, here’s what to know about athlete coverage
Venus Williams current singles win at the D C Open showcased her longevity and brought attention to wellbeing coverage for aging athletes following a joking comment she made in an on-court interview I had to come back for the insurance the five-time Wimbledon champion stated after Tuesday s match her first in months They informed me this year that I m on COBRA so it s like I got to get my benefits on The -year-old Williams who has won seven major singles titles became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis with Tuesday s success After losing on Thursday she acknowledged that her comment on fitness insurance was a fun and funny moment The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act more commonly referred to as COBRA allows Americans to stay on their employer s insurance plan for a limited amount of time after leaving their job It comes with high costs Williams comment led to questions about physical condition insurance in the sports world For most of proceeding professional athletes partially or fully subsidized wellness insurance is provided by their league or governing body and guaranteed in their collective bargaining agreement A CBA is an agreement reached between a league and its players that guarantees certain levels of participant compensation and benefits and can be renegotiated every inadequate years So when athletes are playing they re usually covered But Williams coming back to the sport after a -month hiatus brought to light how long that insurance lasts or doesn t last for athletes when they re not playing Women s tennis In the WTA the governing body of the women s tour players are eligible to enroll in the robustness insurance plan if they are ranked in the top in singles or top in doubles and have played a minimum of three WTA level or above tournaments that year If players are in the top in singles or top in doubles the WTA will pay a portion of the premiums If a participant is no longer eligible under those requirements they can enroll in COBRA for up to months which is likely the situation that Williams was referencing That is also the WTA s only option for retiring players Nobody wants to be on COBRA right Williams declared after her second-round loss on Thursday night That remains an issue in my life Obviously the interview was a fun and funny moment but it s an issue that people are dealing with so it is serious Men s tennis The ATP provides healthcare insurance to men s tennis players who rank in the top in singles or top in doubles All other players with a ranking point are given the opportunity to purchase strength insurance through the ATP s provider For retired players the only option is COBRA for up to three years Golf As an individual sport without a CBA golf tours vary They do have a group insurance plan that is available to advancing members of the PGA Tour the PGA Tour Champions the tour for golfers over and the Korn Ferry Tour the feeder circuit for the PGA Tour For players who meet certain performance criteria including how a large number of tournaments they played and how often they won the PGA Tour will partially subsidize the plan In retirement players are responsible for their own insurance Certain players join the PGA Tour Champions after the PGA Tour and play into their mid- s during which they maintain coverage Top players can receive a subsidy from the PGA Tour in retirement The LPGA Tour the women s professional golf tour started offering its players fully funded healthcare insurance for the first time this year Before this year players were given a stipend NBA NBA players have access to one of the largest part inclusive insurance plans in retirement If they played at least three years in the league retired NBA players are eligible for fully funded wellness insurance in retirement and if they played at least years they will have soundness care covered for their entire family WNBA WNBA players are fighting for retirement fitness care as part of their new CBA which they are at the moment negotiating with the league Those negotiations have been heated and the the greater part newest meeting between the two sides last weekend did not outcome in an agreement One unique facet of the WNBA s healthcare is that athletes who have spent more than eight years in the league can be reimbursed up to a year for costs related to adoption surrogacy egg freezing or additional fertility treatments NFL The NFL has less long-term coverage for retirees than most of other leagues athletes who played in the league for at least three years can remain on the NFL medical insurance plan but only for five years into retirement NHL NHL players who have played more than games with the league which is about two seasons are eligible to buy NHL vitality insurance for their retirement The retirement insurance plan is eligible for partial subsidization from the league MLB Baseball players who spent at least four years in the majors have the option to pay premiums to stay on the MLB s medical care plan indefinitely Minor league baseball has its own separate CBA which also guarantees strength insurance for ongoing players In the minors however players who get cut or leave the league lose coverage at the end of that month AP sports https apnews com hub sports Source
