Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 3502 — State of New Jersey (May 18, 2026)

Summary

A Senate Commerce Committee statement to the Senate on Senate Bill No. 3502, State of New Jersey, dated May 18, 2026, reporting the bill favorably with committee amendments. As amended, the bill requires health insurers, including the State Health Benefits Program and the School Employees' Health Benefits Program, and the State Medicaid program to cover treatment of stuttering, including habilitative and rehabilitative speech therapy. Coverage is required if the treatment is medically necessary, or neurogenic or developmental, as determined by the covered person's medical doctor or licensed speech-language pathologist, in person or through telemedicine or telehealth. The amendments remove the bill's prohibitions against prior authorization, other utilization management requirements and cost-sharing.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
3502

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MAY 18,
2026

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and
with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3502.

As
amended, this bill requires health insurers (health, hospital and medical
service corporations, commercial individual and group health insurers, health
maintenance organizations, health benefits plans issued pursuant to the New
Jersey Individual Health Coverage and Small Employer Health Benefits Programs,
the State Health Benefits Program, and the School Employees’ Health Benefits
Program) and the State Medicaid program to provide coverage for medical
expenses incurred in the treatment of stuttering, including habilitative speech
therapy and rehabilitative speech therapy. The coverage is required if the
treatment is medically necessary, or neurogenic or developmental, as determined
by the covered person’s medical doctor or licensed speech-language pathologist.
The bill requires coverage to be provided whether the services are delivered
in-person or through telemedicine or telehealth.

Pursuant
to the bill, “habilitative speech therapy" means speech therapy that helps
a person keep, learn, or improve skills and functioning for daily living; and
“rehabilitative speech therapy" means speech therapy that helps a person
restore or improve skills and functioning for daily living that have been lost
or impaired.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS :

The committee amended the bill to:

(1) incorporate coverage for stuttering that is
neurogenic or developmental;

(2) add a definition of “licensed speech-language
pathologist” and stipulate that a licensed speech-language pathologist can
determine if coverage for stuttering is medically necessary or neurogenic or
developmental;

(3) remove the prohibitions against prior
authorization or other utilization management requirements and against
cost-sharing; and

(4) make technical updates.

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