NFL Concussion Settlement: Baseline Assessment Program

Dear Alumni: 

While we are waiting for the Judge's decision on the amount of the money needed to compensate former players under the proposed Concussion Settlement, I thought it would be beneficial for former players to understand one of the most important aspects of the agreement – the BAP (Baseline Assessment Program). 

I know that a lot of former players are very skeptical about the process for getting compensated for their injuries under the proposed Concussion Settlement. I believe that much of that skepticism is based on issues and problems that former players have experienced while dealing with the NFL Disability Plan and other benefit application processes administered by the NFL. 

The biggest difference between the NFL Disability Plan process and the one being proposed in the Concussion Settlement is that the Federal Judge - Anita Brody and a Special Master that she appoints, will continue to oversee everything and make sure the BAP is administered in a fair, legal and unbiased manner. 

You will need to register for Settlement benefits before you can get a baseline assessment examination. Registration will not be available until after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and any appeals are fully resolved. 

Once the Settlement is approved, the BAP Administrator will send notice to those retired players eligible for the BAP, explaining how to arrange for an initial baseline assessment examination. 

The NFL won't be choosing the doctors! 

Under the terms of the Settlement, a BAP Administrator will be appointed by the Court and will select and establish a network of qualified and independent medical providers who will provide the initial baseline assessment as well as any further testing and/or treatment. 

Our lawyers have recommended the Garretson Resolution Group to oversee the Baseline Assessment Administration. You can read about them at the following link: http://www.garretsongroup.com/about-us 

For the next 65 years, retired players will be eligible for compensation if they develop a qualifying diagnosis. Participation in the BAP will also help ensure that, to the extent you receive a qualifying diagnosis in the future, you receive the maximum monetary award to which you are entitled. 

Getting a BAP baseline examination will be beneficial to you and your family. It will determine whether you have any cognitive impairment. If you are diagnosed with Level 1 Neurocognitive Impairment, you are eligible to receive further medical testing and/or treatment for that condition. In addition, whether or not you have any cognitive impairment today, the results of the BAP baseline examination can be used as a comparison to measure any subsequent deterioration of your cognitive condition over the course of your life. Participants also will be examined by at least two experts during the BAP baseline examinations, a neuropsychologist and a neurologist, and the retired player and/or his family members will have the opportunity to ask questions relating to any cognitive impairment during those examinations. 

The doctors will have to enter into provider contracts with the BAP Administrator. The provider contract will be required to contain the following warning against fraudulent conduct: "As a Qualified BAP Provider you have agreed to provide your services and make your diagnosis in good faith in accordance with best medical practices. Your diagnoses and billings will be audited on a periodic and random basis subject to the discretion of the BAP Administrator and Special Master. Any finding of fraudulent diagnoses or billings by you will be subject to, without limitation, referral to appropriate regulatory and disciplinary boards and agencies and/or federal authorities, the immediate termination of this contract, and your disqualification from serving as a diagnosing physician in any aspect of the Class Action Settlement." 

I don't think any of the doctors that are hired will want to risk losing their license and possibly go to jail for giving a fraudulent diagnosis. 

Obviously, some type of monitoring system had to be established to ensure that former players were diagnosed and evaluated in a fair, consistent and unbiased manner. I'm not sure if a better process can be designed. 

Here is some important information on the Baseline Assessment Program. 

All living retired players who have earned at least one-half of an Eligible Season, who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement, and who timely register to participate in the Settlement may participate in the Baseline Assessment Program. 

The BAP will provide baseline neuropsychological and neurological assessment examinations to determine whether retired players are currently suffering from cognitive impairment. Retired players will have from two to ten years, depending on their age as of the date the Settlement is finally approved and any appeals are fully resolved, to have a baseline examination conducted through a nationwide network of qualified and independent medical providers. 

·  Retired players 43 or older as of the date the Settlement goes into effect will need to have a baseline examination within two years of the start of the program. 

· Retired players under the age of 43 as of the date the Settlement goes into effect will need to have a baseline examination within 10 years, or before they turn 45, whichever comes sooner. 

Retired players who are diagnosed with Level 1 Neurocognitive Impairment (i.e., moderate cognitive impairment) are eligible to receive further medical testing and/or treatment (including counseling and pharmaceuticals) for that condition for the ten-year term of the BAP or five years from diagnosis, whichever is longer. 

Here are the basic definitions of Neurocognitive impairment:  

• Level 1 Neurocognitive Impairment covers moderate cognitive impairment. It will be established in part with evidence of decline in performance in at least two areas subject to clinical evaluative testing (such as complex attention, executive function, learning, memory, language and perceptual skill) and related functional impairment. 

• Level 1.5 Neurocognitive Impairment covers early Dementia. It will be established in part with evidence of moderate to severe cognitive decline, which includes a decline in performance in at least two areas subject to clinical evaluative testing (such as complex attention, executive function, learning, memory, language and perceptual skill) and related functional impairment. 

• Level 2 Neurocognitive Impairment covers moderate Dementia. It will be established in part with evidence of severe decline in performance in at least two areas subject to clinical evaluative testing (such as complex attention, executive function, learning, memory, language and perceptual skill) and related functional impairment.

Level 1.5 and Level 2 Neurocognitive impairments are eligible for compensatory awards along with ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and certain players under the Death with CTE provision.  

Settlement Class Members who participate in the BAP will be encouraged to provide their confidential medical records for use in research into cognitive impairment and safety and injury prevention with respect to football players. 

Although all retired players are encouraged to take advantage of the BAP and receive a baseline examination, you do not need to participate in the BAP to receive a monetary award, but your award may be reduced by 10% if you do not participate in the BAP.

If a Retired NFL Football Player receives a Qualifying Diagnosis subsequent to a medically diagnosed Stroke or a medically diagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury, there may be a 75% reduction (Offset) in the Monetary Award. If the Settlement Class Member demonstrates, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Qualifying Diagnosis was not causally related to the Stroke or the Traumatic Brain Injury, then the 75% Offset will not apply.

If the Retired NFL Football Player receives a Qualifying Diagnosis prior to a medically diagnosed Stroke or a medically diagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury, then the 75% Offset will not apply.   

I know this is a lot of information to take in right now, but I hope some of it has been helpful.

Your Alumni brother,

Jeff Nixon