Nevada teams up with ex-NBA star to help kids who stutter

Nevada has expanded access to speech-language pathology for children who stutter — all with a little help from a big man.

Growing up in New Jersey, former NCAA champion and second overall 2012 NBA draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist always had a stutter. He still does.

At the University of Kentucky, Kidd-Gilchrist managed his own stutter with help from a speech-language pathologist. Now, he’s on a mission to help get legislation passed in all 50 states that would expand health insurance coverage of speech therapy.

Assembly Bill 169, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, and approved by Gov. Joe Lombardo on June 10, prevents Nevada health insurers from limiting coverage of speech-language pathology based on the number of visits or the cause of stuttering for people under 26 years old.

“I want every kid to have that self-motivation and self-awareness that nothing can hold them back, not even a stutter,” Kidd-Gilchrist told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Stuttering is a speech disorder which includes repeating syllables, drawing out sounds and pausing mid-speech. It affects roughly 3 million Americans and occurs most commonly among children, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Children who stutter are often bullied, and speech therapy can help them build confidence, said Cheryl Larson, a speech pathology and audiology lecturer at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“If health insurance covers occupational, physical and mental health therapy, isn’t it a logical conclusion to include speech language therapy for stuttering?” Larson said. “It’s a recognized medical condition — a neurophysiological difference.”

Similar legislation passed in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York

Larson presented AB 169 to the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Labor in February along with Yeager, Kidd-Gilchrist and UNR student Esteban Perez.

Early speech therapy can prevent future workplace discrimination, financial hardship and social isolation caused by negative reactions to people with stutters, Larson said.

Kidd-Gilchrist’s stutter has not held him back in his decorated career as an NBA player and as an activist. In 2021, one year after his retirement from basketball, Kidd-Gilchrist founded Change & Impact, a nonprofit advocating for those who stutter.

Kidd-Gilchrist has helped similar legislation get passed in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New York. He can now cross Nevada, state number four, off his list.

A friend of Yeager’s, also a former Kentucky state senator, connected him with Kidd-Gilchrist. Yeager said his friend quickly convinced him to introduce the legislation in Nevada.

“The more I learned about the issue, the more important I thought it was to make sure that folks get help and they get help early and without limitations, so that they can improve their self-confidence and try to overcome some of those issues,” Yeager told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Could raise costs for insurers

Yeager amended the bill in April to exclude Nevada’s Public Employees’ Benefits Program, after the state benefits administrator expressed fiscal concerns. On Friday, however, a program official emailed Yeager to express interest in enhancing its speech therapy benefits to the same level required by AB 169.

Given the relative rarity of stuttering and existing coverage options, the law is not expected to dramatically increase costs for insurers, according to Nevada Division of Insurance Lead Actuary Maile Campbell.

“Because the state’s benchmark plan already covers speech-language pathology as a treatment for stuttering, AB169 does not create a new benefit but instead eliminates certain coverage limitations for enrollees under the age of 26,” Campbell said in an email.

A spokesperson for the Nevada Association of Health Plans, which represents 11 healthcare companies that provide commercial health insurance and government programs, agreed on the modest impact of the bill but worried about an increased number of bills like it leading to more insurance claims and fewer mechanisms to keep costs down.

“We appreciate the intent behind AB 169. The concern is that mandates often come with unintended consequences that drive up costs for consumers and reduce plan flexibility,” the spokesperson said in an email.

New purpose for Kidd-Gilchrist

Despite cost concerns, testimony was overwhelmingly positive at every committee hearing on the bill. It passed both houses of the legislature unanimously, which left Kidd-Gilchrist “in shock.”

Following a successful basketball career cut short by injuries, Kidd-Gilchrist said he’s found a new purpose advocating for the stuttering community through his foundation.

“I think a lot of people just know me as an athlete, but I’m way more. I have a stutter, and I’m just so happy that kids in Nevada who may never know who I am, or even what I’m about — I just love the fact that they will have access to speech therapy,” Kidd-Gilchrist said.

Contact Isaiah Steinberg at isteinberg@reviewjournal.com. Follow @IsaiahStei27 on X.