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  3. Competing in the Olympics comes with many obvious perks, like the honor of representing one’s country on the international stage

Competing in the Olympics comes with many obvious perks, like the honor of representing one’s country on the international stage

admin2013-09-26  41
问题     Competing in the Olympics comes with many obvious perks, like the honor of representing one’s country on the international stage and huge bonus. But when elite athletes enter the health-insurance market, they face the same complicated system the rest of us do. Numerous plans exist, each with different requirements and benefits. How much you pay hinges on your sport, your level of competition, and your geographic location.
    Many American team members receive insurance tlirough the U. S. Olympic Committee, which offers a plan called Elite Athlete Health Insurance. The policy operates like employer-based insurance, in which a group of individuals purchase together to drive down prices. In this case, though, the employees are Olympic athletes. The USOC plan covers the basics-things like doctors’ visits and prescriptions—with athletes chipping in small co-pays.
    The Olympic Committee supplies a limited number of policies to each sport. This year U. S. Figure Skating reports 18 spots, USA Luge(竞赛用的小型撬)has 12, and the U. S. Skiing and Snowboard Association has about 70. Each of these organizations known in Olympic terms as the " national governing bodies"—is left to distribute their allotment of policies to their athletes; this means that not every athlete in a particular sport can get coverage—just the top ones.
    What the USOC plan does not pay for—and what athletes definitely want covered—are sports-related injuries; costs incurred from accidents that happen during competition or practice. Each professional athletic association, from figure skating to luge, offers a catastrophic plan, usually for Olympic athletes as well as lower-level competitors. Coverage varies—deductibles(免赔额)range from nonexistent up through $2,500. The USA’s Elite Athlete Insurance, for example, has a $500 deductible and maximum $ 1,250 co-pay per accident, according to a description of its plan listed on its site. But if you’re part of USA Luge, your deductible drops to $ 250. And at the U. S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, deductibles change whether you are competing internationally or domestically.
    "The accident insurance is secondary," explains Amy Chapin, director of administration at USA Luge. So if a luge athlete suffers a sports-related injury, " it needs to go through their Elite Athlete Insurance, be denied, and then it comes to us. "
    The losers in the Olympic insurance market are usually the almost-Olympic athletes, the handful of elite competitors for whom their sport is a full-time job yet do not qualify for the Games. They often do not receive USOC coverage and likely do not have access to an employer-based plan. From the way athletic officials describe it, they’re left in a health-insurance situation quite similar to that of unemployed Americans. " The athletes that have it hardest are those who aren’t on the Olympic team, those who don’t qualify," says Darrin Steele, CEO of the U. S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. " We don’t have a supplemental policy for them. They’re on their own. "
Who plays the biggest part in covering athletes’ sports-related injuries according to the passage?
选项 A、The USOC.
B、Insurance companies.
C、Professional athletic associations.
D、The athletes themselves.
答案C
解析
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