Florida SB 922: Economic Development

Bill Text

922 
Coverage for Treatment of Stuttering 
2025-12-16T10:13:53Z 
Authorizing the Agency for Health Care Administration to pay for certain services and devices as a treatment for stuttering for Medicaid recipients; authorizing speech therapy in person and via telehealth as a treatment for stuttering; requiring certain individual health insurance policies, group health insurance policies, and health maintenance contracts, respectively, to provide coverage for specified services and devices as treatments for stuttering, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 922 

 By Senator Smith 

 17-00939B-26 2026922__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to coverage for treatment of 
 3 stuttering; amending s. 409.906, F.S.; authorizing the 
 4 Agency for Health Care Administration to pay for 
 5 certain services and devices as a treatment for 
 6 stuttering for Medicaid recipients; providing 
 7 requirements for such coverages; authorizing speech 
 8 therapy in person and via telehealth as a treatment 
 9 for stuttering; authorizing the agency to include the 
 10 use of certain communication technologies, 
 11 applications, and platforms for such telehealth 
 12 treatment; providing definitions; authorizing the 
 13 agency to seek federal approval for a specified 
 14 purpose; creating ss. 627.64192, 627.66912, and 
 15 641.3109, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring 
 16 certain individual health insurance policies, group 
 17 health insurance policies, and health maintenance 
 18 contracts, respectively, to provide coverage for 
 19 specified services and devices as treatments for 
 20 stuttering; providing requirements for such coverages; 
 21 authorizing speech therapy in person and via 
 22 telehealth; providing requirements for telehealth 
 23 coverage; providing an effective date. 
 24 
 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 26 
 27 Section 1. Subsection (30) is added to section 409.906, 
 28 Florida Statutes, to read: 
 29 409.906 Optional Medicaid services.—Subject to specific 
 30 appropriations, the agency may make payments for services which 
 31 are optional to the state under Title XIX of the Social Security 
 32 Act and are furnished by Medicaid providers to recipients who 
 33 are determined to be eligible on the dates on which the services 
 34 were provided. Any optional service that is provided shall be 
 35 provided only when medically necessary and in accordance with 
 36 state and federal law. Optional services rendered by providers 
 37 in mobile units to Medicaid recipients may be restricted or 
 38 prohibited by the agency. Nothing in this section shall be 
 39 construed to prevent or limit the agency from adjusting fees, 
 40 reimbursement rates, lengths of stay, number of visits, or 
 41 number of services, or making any other adjustments necessary to 
 42 comply with the availability of moneys and any limitations or 
 43 directions provided for in the General Appropriations Act or 
 44 chapter 216. If necessary to safeguard the state’s systems of 
 45 providing services to elderly and disabled persons and subject 
 46 to the notice and review provisions of s. 216.177, the Governor 
 47 may direct the Agency for Health Care Administration to amend 
 48 the Medicaid state plan to delete the optional Medicaid service 
 49 known as “Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally 
 50 Disabled.” Optional services may include: 
 51 (30) HABILITATIVE AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES AND DEVICES 
 52 FOR TREATMENT OF STUTTERING.— 
 53 (a) The agency may pay for the following services and 
 54 devices as a treatment of stuttering for a recipient: 
 55 1. Habilitative services and devices, including 
 56 habilitative speech therapy, regardless of whether the 
 57 stuttering is classified as developmental. 
 58 2. Rehabilitative services and devices, including 
 59 rehabilitative speech therapy. 
 60 3. Both habilitative services and devices and 
 61 rehabilitative services and devices as provided in subparagraphs 
 62 1. and 2., respectively. 
 63 (b)1. The coverage for habilitative services and devices 
 64 and rehabilitative services and devices provided under paragraph 
 65 (a) is not subject to any limit: 
 66 a. On the number of visits a recipient may make to a 
 67 speech-language pathologist; or 
 68 b. Based on the type of disease, injury, disorder, or other 
 69 medical condition that resulted in the stuttering. 
 70 2. The habilitative speech therapy and rehabilitative 
 71 speech therapy provided under paragraph (a) may be rendered in 
 72 person or via telehealth. For reimbursement for speech therapy 
 73 rendered via telehealth, the agency may also include the use of 
 74 any communication technology, application, or platform to 
 75 deliver telehealth services which complies with applicable 
 76 privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and 
 77 Accountability Act of 199