Panel hears bill to require insurance coverage of stuttering treatment and remove visit limits
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Summary
Assembly Bill 169 would require many insurance plans to cover treatment for stuttering and bar annual‑visit limits or benefit limits tied to cause; sponsor said age limit was raised to 26 to conform with the Affordable Care Act and PEP was removed from mandates after fiscal concerns.
Assembly Bill 169 would require various insurance plans to include treatment for stuttering for children and prohibit insurers from setting annual visit limits to speech‑language pathology services, Assemblyman Steve Yeager told the Senate Finance Committee.
Yeager told the committee the bill initially covered people through age 18 but was amended to raise the age to 26 to align with the Affordable Care Act’s dependent‑coverage provision. Yeager said the bill’s language also prevents insurers from limiting benefits based on the cause of stuttering or subjecting benefits to medical‑management exclusions.
A fiscal note originally provided by PEP (Public Employees’ Benefits Program) was removed from the bill after negotiations, Yeager said; he reported ongoing communications with PEP leadership and said PEP indicated a willingness to work during the interim to find an approach to provide coverage voluntarily.
Support witnesses included Sheila Bray of the University of Nevada, Reno and Annie Vong representing the Nevada Speech‑Language Pathologist Association. There was no recorded opposition testimony during the hearing.
The committee took testimony and closed the hearing; no committee vote was recorded during the session.