Subcommittee advances bill to require insurance coverage for stuttering therapy

Delegate Cole introduced HB 1633, a bill that would require health insurance carriers in Virginia to provide habilitative and rehabilitative speech therapy coverage specifically for the treatment of stuttering. The bill would remove annual benefit limits and visit caps, prohibit utilization review requirements such as prior authorization and medical-necessity determinations for those services, and apply to plans issued or renewed on or after Jan. 1, 2026.

Why it matters: Supporters said the measure would close coverage gaps for people who stutter and remove administrative barriers that can prevent timely care. Opponents from the insurance industry warned that eliminating utilization review entirely for an unlimited benefit is problematic and that many plans already cover speech therapy.

Delegate Cole, the bill patron, said, “The bill mandates that health insurance carriers in Virginia provide coverage for both habilitative and rehabilitative speech therapy, specifically targeting stuttering.” He later noted the bill’s effective date and framed it as a fix for coverage “holes” experienced by some families.

Former NBA player Michael Kidd Gilchrist testified in support as a person who stutters, saying he appreciated being heard and that treatment made a “big, big, difference” in his life and career. Wes Gibson of the Virginia Education Association said the bill would help students access critical speech therapy in school settings.

Doug Gray of the Virginia Association of Health Plans cautioned that most plans already cover stuttering treatment and urged reconsideration of language that would entirely prohibit utilization management. Dr. Jessica Sullivan, department chair at Hampton University, urged support and noted the clinical variability in stuttering treatment needs.

The committee first considered and adopted a line amendment (strike phrase after citation noted in the record). Later, Delegate Destiny Lavier Bowling moved to gently lay the bill on the table and ask the chair to send a recommendation letter to the Health Benefit Review Commission; the motion was seconded and approved by recorded vote. The vote on the final disposition was recorded as seven yea votes; the record does not list individual recorded votes in the transcript excerpt.

The bill will be considered further once the HERC review and any requested analysis are complete.