Nevada now covers unlimited speech therapy for stuttering — here’s who qualifies

New law kicks in for Nevadans under 26

Nevada now requires health insurers to cover speech therapy for people under 26 who stutter.

Assembly Bill 169 took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and applies to both public and private insurance plans, including Medicaid. The law bars insurers from putting annual limits on how many therapy sessions they will pay for.

It also stops them from denying coverage based on what caused a person’s stuttering, whether it started in childhood or came from an illness or injury.

Bipartisan support pushed the bill through

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, a Democrat from Las Vegas, sponsored the bill.

It passed both chambers of the Nevada Legislature with broad bipartisan support, and Gov. Joe Lombardo signed it on June 10, 2025.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the national professional group for speech therapists, sent a letter backing the measure.

The quick path from introduction to signing showed rare agreement across party lines on a health care issue.

The law removes limits, not creates new benefits

Nevada’s benchmark insurance plan already covered speech therapy for stuttering before this law existed. What changed is simpler than it sounds.

The new law strips away caps on how many visits an insurer would pay for and blocks insurers from questioning what caused the stuttering.

The Nevada Division of Insurance said the law removes old restrictions rather than building a new benefit from scratch. Because of that, officials do not expect it to drive up costs for insurers.

About 3 million Americans stutter

Stuttering involves repeating syllables, stretching out sounds, or pausing mid-speech. About 3 million Americans deal with it, according to the National Institutes of Health.

It most often shows up in children between ages 2 and 6. Roughly 5% to 10% of all children will stutter at some point growing up.

The good news is that about 75% of those kids will recover on their own. The other 25% may carry it into adulthood.

Families faced steep costs before the law

Speech therapy sessions in the U.S. typically run between $100 and $250 per hour without insurance. Most treatment plans call for one or two sessions a week over several months, so the bills add up fast.

Before this law, some insurance plans capped the number of sessions they would cover each year. Once families hit that limit, they either paid out of pocket or stopped treatment entirely.

The law aims to keep families from facing that choice.

An NBA player drives the nationwide push

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Bobcats and Hornets, has stuttered since childhood. He did not get speech therapy until he reached college at the University of Kentucky.

After retiring from basketball, he founded the nonprofit Change and Impact in 2021 to expand insurance coverage for stuttering treatment in all 50 states.

Kidd-Gilchrist testified before Nevada lawmakers in support of AB 169 and has become the movement’s most visible advocate.

Four states have passed similar laws

Nevada is not the first state Kidd-Gilchrist has helped. He played a role in passing similar laws in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Kentucky’s law, signed in April 2024, removed a cap of 20 treatment sessions per year. Pennsylvania’s version requires insurers to cover speech therapy for children diagnosed with stuttering.

Every one of these laws passed with bipartisan support. Advocates say early treatment gives children who stutter a much better shot at long-term recovery.

A federal bill now targets Medicaid coverage

The push has gone national. In December 2025, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan federal bill called the Kidd’s Stuttering Act.

Rep. Addison McDowell, a Republican from North Carolina, and Rep. Shomari Figures, a Democrat from Alabama, are sponsoring the measure.

The bill would require Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover early stuttering screenings for children ages 2 to 6 and make speech therapy mandatory under both programs. The bill has not yet moved through committee.

Early treatment makes a big difference

Speech-language pathologists say catching stuttering early is critical. Children who start therapy young have a much better chance of recovery.

When stuttering goes untreated, it can lead to anxiety, social isolation, and trouble in school.

Research shows stuttering has a neurological basis, tied to differences in brain areas that control speech and language.

Supporters of coverage laws argue that treatment should not be treated as optional or as something schools alone should handle.

What Nevada families need to know

Parents and guardians of anyone under 26 in Nevada can now seek speech therapy for stuttering without worrying about visit caps. The coverage applies no matter how the stuttering started.

Families should check with their insurance plan for details on copays and which providers are in their network. The law does not set a specific number of required sessions.

Instead, the treating speech-language pathologist decides the right plan. School-based speech services remain separate and are not affected.

Advocates aim for all 50 states

Kidd-Gilchrist has said he wants stuttering coverage laws in every state.

The federal Kidd’s Stuttering Act, if passed, would create a national baseline through Medicaid and CHIP. Nevada’s law could serve as a model for states weighing similar bills.

The Nevada Association of Health Plans has acknowledged the modest cost impact of this particular law but has raised concerns about a growing number of coverage mandates overall. For now, advocates keep pushing state by state.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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