I have assumed that when a player has a baseball related injury and goes on the DL, the team pays directly for all rehab/medical expenses.  What about non-baseball related issues.  When Jon Lester was diagnosed with lymphoma, the medical costs must have been huge.  Do the players have an insurance plan like most companies or do teams generally pay for expenses directly (i.e., hospital bills go to the BoSox instead of Lester having to fill out claim forms).

Thanks
RJR

Yes, the teams cover medical expenses when a player is injured as a part of his baseball duties.  The collective bargaining agreement and uniform player contract have a lot of detail on this : http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/pdf/cba_english.pdf

There is also a Major League Baseball Players Benefit Plan, and the Benefit Plan includes health care insurance.  There’s a copy here : http://bob.sabr.org/docs/mlbpabenefitsplan.pdf but it’s of an older document, not current.

Craig

Thanks very much