After Years of Criticism, NCAA To Offer All Athletes Post-Eligibility Insurance

The NCAA has been heavily criticized over the years for its lack of oversight regarding medical coverage for athletes, particularly regarding the injuries they may have suffered as a result of playing. It’s finally offering a response.

On Wednesday, the NCAA announced that it will offer additional medical coverage to college athletes through a “post-eligibility insurance program.”

The program, which will commence on August 1, 2024, will provide athletes in all three divisions two extra years of medical insurance after they finish playing to cover injuries that took place while playing.

The NCAA estimated that the program’s annual premium will be $26 million. The policy will have a $90,000 “excess limit” for each injury, but will have no deductible — meaning athletes won’t have to pay a certain amount before the NCAA takes over. 

“Student-athletes deserve the coverage offered in this plan, no matter their division,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.

The program comes from recommendations by the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee, which disbanded in January after providing recommendations to the NCAA about how to best improve the association. The Transformation Committee suggested last year that the governing body “formalize” each division’s expectations for medical care.

The program, however, is not a mandate that all schools must offer a certain type of insurance, as some federal bills have suggested. Instead, it will be an association-funded offering.

While athletes are required to have medical insurance, the NCAA doesn’t mandate that schools pay for their medical expenses. Some schools, however, already offer programs of this nature.