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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2011 - 2012
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 29, 2024 08:42 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Brandon J. Markosek |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Providing Insurance Coverage of Speech Therapy for Stuttering |
| Stuttering impacts 70 million people globally and 3 million Americans. A type of fluency disorder, stuttering can occur either in childhood or as a result of a stroke, head trauma, or another type of brain injury. A speech-language pathologist can diagnose stuttering and perform speech therapy treatments with the individual to help improve their daily life. Recently, Kentucky adopted a law to require private health insurance, Medicaid and CHIP coverage of speech therapy for stuttering. This law has received national attention with former NBA star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist advocating for passage of the bill. My legislation would enact this same insurance coverage for Pennsylvanians. Many private insurance policies may provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering, but usually this coverage is not adequate for necessary treatment. This bill would allow children with a stutter and adults who have suffered a neurological trauma to receive much needed insurance coverage for speech therapy treatments. Please join me in removing the barriers that many individuals with a stutter face in accessing treatment they need by co-sponsoring this legislation. |
Introduced as HB2268