Bill > H5019

This bill mandates that various health insurance plans and programs in Massachusetts, including those for state employees, Medicaid, and private insurance policies, must cover stuttering speech therapy. This coverage applies to both "habilitative services," which help individuals gain or improve daily living skills, and "rehabilitative services," which aim to restore lost or impaired skills, regardless of whether the stuttering is considered developmental or caused by another condition. Importantly, this coverage cannot have annual visit limits, be restricted by the cause of the stuttering, or be subject to prior authorization or other "utilization review" processes, which are methods insurers use to evaluate the necessity and appropriateness of care. The bill also ensures that speech therapy provided through "telehealth," which uses technology to deliver services remotely, must be covered at a level comparable to in-person services, with the exception of privacy compliance under HIPAA. Finally, the coverage extends to both individual and group therapy sessions for a range of speech and language disorders.

Health and Social Services

Joint Committee on Financial Services (Joint)

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5019