Bill > HB949

This bill amends Pennsylvania's insurance law to expand health insurance coverage for speech therapy for children with stuttering and apraxia, a neurological childhood speech disorder. The bill requires health insurance policies to provide coverage for both habilitative (skill-building) and rehabilitative (skill-restoring) speech therapy for children with these conditions. The coverage will be subject to standard insurance policy terms like medical necessity and cost-sharing, and specifically will not mandate coverage of school-based speech therapy solely based on an individualized education program. The bill provides detailed definitions for key terms such as "apraxia," "childhood stuttering," "cost-sharing," and "speech therapy," clarifying that the therapy must be administered by a licensed speech-language pathologist. The legislation will apply to health insurance policies 180 days after its effective date, which is 60 days after passage, ensuring insurers have time to update their policies to comply with the new requirements.