Another day of crazy in Topeka: Kansas House passes absurd legislation on sports-related concussions

While the rest of the country is growing concerned about the effects concussions on athletes playing contact sports — namely football — Kansas lawmakers want to get kids back in the game as quickly as possible.

The Kansas House on Tuesday passed a measure that expands the type of medical professionals who can clear a concussed athlete and return the child to a sporting activity.

House Bill 2578 rewrites a 2011 law that established policy for when an a student playing middle- or high-school sports can again participate in the activity following a concussion.Tuesday’s measure redefines what type of medical professional can evaluate the athlete. The 2011 law defined a health care provider as someone licensed to practice medicine or surgery. HB 2578 redefines a health-care provider as anyone licensed by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. That means now chiropractors, for instance, can clear athletes to return to action.

So what do experts say? 

The Kansas Medical Society and Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine testified in opposition of the bill, saying the complexities of evaluating concussions should be left to physicians to diagnose. 

Still, the measure passed, 71-53.

Just before it did, Wichita Eagle statehouse reporter Bryan Lowry quoted Rep. Blake Carpenter telling his colleagues, “There’s obviously going to be risks, but that’s why people have malpractice insurance.”

Talk about missing the point.

[This post corrects an earlier version of this story that erroneously attributed a quote to Rep. Will Carpenter. We regret the error.]