Some college athletes are among the millions of Americans who wrack up huge medical bills because of being uninsured or underinsured, reports the New York Times . Though some schools offer good coverage, many others don’t pay for all of their student-athletes’ medical bills. Some do so only if a direct link between the injury and the sport can be established. If they can’t, students are forced to tap into their regular student health insurance, which may not offer the same amount of coverage and which may specifically exclude varsity sport injuries. The Times cites examples of a Colgate University rower who wracked up $80,000 in bills for pain in her back and legs that the school refused to pay because

it said she was treated for an illness, not a sports-related injury. The National Collegiate Athletic Association only requires that schools make sure their athletes have insurance before competing. That rule doesn’t do enough to protect collegiate athletes, says National College Players Association , an advocacy group. But the NCAA is unlikely to change its stance on medical coverage anytime soon. “The only way to increase coverage would be to make it mandatory,” Joe D’Antonio, chairman of the N.C.A.A.’s legislative council and associate commissioner of the Big East Conference, told the NYT. “It could be too demanding financially on some of our institutions.” Image: iStockphoto

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College Athletes Sacked with High Medical Bills