Congress Holds Hearings on Concussion Legislation
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held hearings on a bill known as the “Concussion Treatment and Care Tools Act.” This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene experts to recommend nationwide guidelines for managing concussions in athletes in all sports for ages 5 to 18. The legislation would also include guidelines as to when an injured athlete would be permitted to return to play. The legislation also provides federal money to the states for enacting the legislation. It is anticipated that this bill will reach the House floor for a vote.
At the same time, the House Education and Labor Committee held hearings on its bill “Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act.” The committee took testimony from experts in the field of youth concussions. The bill requires public school districts to develop and put in place their own plans for sports concussion management and would explicitly require that any athletes suspected of having sustained a concussion be prohibited from returning to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional. The bill also called for special scholastic services for athletes in recovery. The sub-committee’s chairman, George Miller, asserted the need for nationwide guidelines to bring uniformity across all of the states.
I certainly applaud the efforts of both Committees to enact legislation which will protect the student athletes who sustain brain injuries during athletic events. One issue raised during these hearings is the lack of funds available in many school districts to pay for qualified trainers and other medical providers. It will therefore be essential that Congress enacts not only this legislation but provides the necessary funding to insure the safety of our children.
It will also be necessary not only to educate student athletes, their parents and school officials, but doctors around the country so that they understand the ramifications of concussions. Having represented survivors of traumatic brain injury for over 20 years, I cannot emphasize enough the number of times I have read in records of physicians dismissing complaints of concussions/brain injuries. All too often, as these hearings have demonstrated, doctors tell their child patients and their parents that a student athlete can return to play after one or two weeks. We can and should do better.