Johnny is a high school football player in Dallas. On Friday night, Johnny tears ligaments in his knee. On Saturday morning, Johnny’s Mom and Dad have doctor bills they never expected. They are upset.
Each year, the DISD sends medical release forms to all parents of student athletes, explaining the DISD’s injury insurance policy. “A lot of parents just don’t read it,” says DISD trainer Eddie Lane. “So a lot of them are surprised to find out the schools don’t pay all the doctor bills.”
Here’s how it works. The district takes bids every year for a group policy to cover athletic injuries. The insurance people aren’t exactly beating down the training room doors to get the action – for the past three years, only Blue Cross-Blue Shield has made a bid. This year a $70,000 policy covers some 12,000 student athletes. The hitch is that this policy is only supplemental to the insurance of the parents of the injured student. In other words, the folks pay first. Only if the parents have no hospitalization insurance and can’t afford to pay the bills does DISD coverage go into effect.
The Fort Worth schools, instead of insurance, have an annual “injury budget.” But again, it’s a “parents first” situation. Last year the score was Fort Worth School District $20,000, Parents $35,000.
So, play at your own risk. But don’t feel cheated. Many Texas school districts, amazingly, have no injury insurance whatsoever.
Related Articles
Travel
Is Fort Worth Really ‘The New Austin’?
The Times of London tells us it's now the coolest city in Texas.
By Tim Rogers
Dallas 500
Meet the Dallas 500: Chakri Gottemukkala, o9 Solutions
The o9 solutions leader talks about garnering a $3.7 billion valuation, growing 10x over the next few years, and how the company is innovating.
By D CEO Staff
Local News
An Early Look at 2026 FIFA World Cup Logistics
The World Cup matches will be held in Arlington, but Dallas will be home to a great deal of team and fan experiences. We're getting an early look at what that will look like.