1998 - STATE LICENSURE (IC 25-5.1)

House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1221 was passed and changed ATs from Certified to Licensed Athletic Trainer.

• ATs can treat physically active individuals as a result of exercise, sport, or recreational activity.
• Services include prevention, assessment, treatment, management, and reconditioning of injuries.
• LATs working under a physician, osteopath, podiatrist, or chiropractor are not required to work under additional supervision.

This law established a solid foundation for practice that still supports Indiana ATs today.

2011 – REIMBURSEMENT OPPORTUNITIES OPENED (IC 27-8-6-6)

HEA 1467 created a major step forward for third-party reimbursement:

• Insurers covering physical medicine and rehab services could no longer deny coverage just because the provider was an LAT.
• Licensed Athletic Trainers were recognized as eligible health care providers under HMO plans.

While not mandating universal coverage, this law removed barriers and gave LATs leverage to negotiate payment for services.

2012 – IATA DEFENDED AT LICENSURE

The IATA was successful in showing the Regulated Occupations Evaluation Committee (ROEC) why maintaining licensure was important for athletic trainers even as they looked to reduce the number of licensed professions in Indiana.

2014 – RECOGNITION AS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS (IC 16-18-2-163)

With the passage of HEA 1290, athletic trainers were officially added to Indiana’s statutory list of health care providers:

• It reinforced ATs’ role in concussion management and sudden cardiac arrest return-to-play protocols, ensuring that ATs with proper training and physician direction could clear athletes appropriately.
• The law also required initial licensure applicants to undergo national criminal background checks, aligning ATs with other licensed health professions.

2023 – MODERNIZED SCOPE OF PRACTICE

IATA’s most recent legislative success came with HEA 1647, which modernized Indiana’s Athletic Training Practice Act by:

• Expanding employment settings to include occupational facilities (e.g., workplace clinics, factories).
• Authorizing ATs to make an “athletic training diagnosis” within their scope of education and training.
• Adding rehabilitation and manual therapies (soft tissue techniques, massage, non-thrust joint mobilization) to the defined scope of practice.
• Strengthening physician supervision standards by formally defining “supervision” as advising, consenting to, or directing AT activities through written or oral orders.

This law reflects the evolving role of athletic trainers in sports medicine, health care, and occupational settings.