Bill > HB5102

This bill mandates that insurance policies, plans, and contracts issued in West Virginia, starting July 1, 2026, must provide coverage for "habilitative speech therapy" as a treatment for stuttering, regardless of whether the stuttering is considered developmental. Habilitative services are defined as healthcare services that help individuals maintain, learn, or improve daily living skills, and habilitative speech therapy specifically refers to speech therapy aimed at these goals. The bill also clarifies that "rehabilitative services" are for restoring lost or impaired skills, and rehabilitative speech therapy serves a similar purpose. Importantly, this coverage cannot be subject to annual benefit limits, visit limitations, or be restricted based on the cause of stuttering, nor can it require prior authorization or a medical necessity determination, and it must include coverage for speech therapy provided both in-person and via telehealth, with telehealth services needing to comply with federal privacy laws like HIPAA. This requirement applies to various types of insurance, including accident and sickness policies, group accident and sickness insurance, hospital service corporations, medical service corporations, dental service corporations, health service corporations, health care corporations, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=5102&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill