Is Cameron Brink Insured by Los Angeles Sparks Amid Torn ACL? Digging Deeper Into WNBA’s Policy on Injuries

The Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink suffered a season-ending injury on Tuesday. The Sparks were battling it out against the Connecticut Sun and were trailing by a 9-5 margin when Brink in order to score ran from coast to coast while tackling Brionna Jones and landed clumsily which had her left foot injured. She found it difficult to put weight on the injured knee and hence, was escorted to the dressing room.

After her evaluation, reports came forward that Brink had torn her ACL due to which she will have to miss the entire WNBA season along with missing the Olympics. While Brink was the second overall pick in this year’s WNBA, she will be making a base salary of $76,535. But who will bear the entire expenses of her surgery and rehabilitation? Is it Brink? Or does the WNBA have a proper medical coverage plan for athletes? Let’s dive into the WNBA policy.

WNBA’s policy for Cameron Brink’s In-Network treatment

As per the WNBA medical contract policy, each player will be covered for their medical expenses by the league beginning from the start of the training camp to the next training camp or May 15th. The contract also ceases to exist if the player has been terminated.

The insurance has two types of benefits for its players – In-Network Coverage and Out-of-Network coverage. Brink can choose to opt for any of the services depending on which care facility and doctors she decides to go for. If she goes for the In-Network facility then there will be co-payment for certain services. Plus, the annual deductible will be $600 per individual. The family members can also choose to be covered by the same policy which has a max coverage of $1800 per family.

There will be 80% coverage till the individual has paid $3000 per person or $9000 per family. After that, there will be a cent percent coverage by the policy plan. If for some reason Brink goes for the out-of-network facilities then also the WNBA will help her with money for her recovery.

WNBA’s plan for Cameron Brink’s Out-of-Network coverage

In the Out-of-Network coverage, Brink will be covered for around $3000 deductible per person and $9000 per family. The policy also covers 60% of the eligible charges till the time the player has paid around $9000 per person or $27000 with the family. After that, the policy will cover 100% charges.

The good thing about the coverage is that the athletes can choose a policy for their dependents by paying 33% of the cost. Therefore, the WNBA covers both players and their families which is extremely beneficial in most cases. 

So basically Brink has two different types of coverages in place depending on which facility she chooses. And hopefully, as she stated in her recent Instagram caption she will continue to work hard and try her level best to make a comeback as soon as possible. “I’m not defined by basketball, but it is something that I love deeply and I will work everyday to get back to it.” Meanwhile, her fans too would be wishing her a speedy recovery. 

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.