A sports comeback is supposed to be spurred by competitive desire. An inability to stay away from the game you love, and try to give it just one more shot to see if you still have it. When it happens because you desperately need to reinstate employment to get cheaper health insurance, we have Venus Williams on Tuesday night.
Williams made a stunning return at the Citi Open on Tuesday, beating World No. 35 Peyton Stearns in straight sets. It was the first time in 16 months she’s played professional tennis, and the win made her the oldest woman in history to be victorious in a singles match at age 45. After the match she explained her motivation for returning, and it was sad as hell.
“I had to come back for the insurance. They informed me earlier this year that I’m on COBRA. So I was like ‘I got to get my benefits on,’ and started training. […] You guys know what it’s like, insurance is hard, and let let me tell you I’m always at the doctor, so I need this insurance.”
Venus has two chronic health problems which have been documented in the past: Uterine fibroids, and Sjogren’s syndrome, a rare auto-immune disease. Both of which require the former world No. 1 to see doctors more regularly. This underscores that Williams’ desire to return was very much fueled by healthcare costs, and not necessarily a drive to compete.
The healthcare plan Williams mentioned here is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). It’s intended as bridge healthcare coverage for people who are laid off or leave their jobs, and is designed to be short-term private insurance which keeps their same level of coverage. The issue with COBRA plans is that they are exceedingly expensive, requiring covered individuals to pay for both their part of the premium, as well as the employer contribution, plus an administrative fee. This means that an individual paying $400 a month for traditional health insurance will need to pay a monthly premium of $816 a month for COBRA.
That’s a lot of money, even for a millionaire. It’s unclear why Williams never got off COBRA and pivoted to an individual plan, but healthcare in the United States is extremely complicated. In addition there’s a chance premiums on a different plan could have been more expensive than the one she was on. even factoring in the additional COBRA fees.
Neither the ATP nor the WTA have a vested health insurance plan for retired athletes the same way players from the NFL or NBA have. Instead they operate as independent contractors, more similar to professional wrestlers — which leads to complications in health insurance like this.
Williams was able to laugh about healthcare being the reason for her return, but it underscored just how sad things are in the United States when it comes to getting care when you’re sick, or have a chronic illness.
