Congressman Addison McDowell Leads Bipartisan Effort to Expand Early Stuttering Screenings and Therapy for Young Children

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Addison McDowell (NC-06) led a bipartisan effort with Congressman Shomari C. Figures (AL-02) to help young children who stutter receive early intervention. The Kidd’s Stuttering Act will add mandatory stuttering screenings for children ages two to six and guarantee Medicaid and CHIP coverage for speech-therapy services.

“I’m proud to introduce the Kidd’s Stuttering Act. This bill makes early stuttering detection available to kids on Medicaid and CHIP, giving us a real chance to identify these issues early on for thousands of children across the country. A four-year-old has a 75% better chance of recovery when we identify it early,” Congressman McDowell said. “The work Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has done at the state and national level has already changed lives, and I’m looking forward to helping carry that progress forward legislatively in Congress.”

"As a father and an advocate for families, I am proud to work with Congressman Addison McDowell and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to introduce legislation to better support children and families," said Congressman Figures. "We know that early intervention can make all the difference in a child's speech development, their confidence, and their overall well-being. This legislation is an important step in providing families with the support and medical coverage they need and deserve." 

The bill was championed by advocate and former NBA player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who has become a national voice for stuttering awareness. Kidd-Gilchrist has worked on similar bipartisan legislation that passed at the state level in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. 

“I am grateful for the chance to support this important work as we push to make early screenings and therapy available to every child that stutters,” said Kidd-Gilchrist. “Families should not have to fight for basic care that helps to make a difference in their child’s future. I know the difference it can make in a child’s life and it's much needed.”

Childhood-onset stuttering typically begins between the ages of two and five.  20% of those cases stutter for over a year and 1% (approximately 3 million people in the U.S.) persist into adulthood.  Early diagnosis and intervention can make a significant difference in a child’s confidence, communication skills, learning & overall growth, and long-term development into adulthood.

What the Kidd’s Stuttering Act does:

• Requires CMS to add stuttering and fluency screening measures to the “Child Core Set” of health care quality measures.
  • The Child Core Set is a standardized set of health screenings used by states to monitor different health and developmental conditions in children, including vision exams, hearing tests, and developmental and behavioral health screenings.
  • The bill does not dictate the appropriate or specific method of stuttering screening; it simply requires some type of stuttering screening to be included in the Core Set.
• Requires CMS to require screening for stuttering in Medicaid Well-Child visits for children between the ages of 2-6 years old.
  • Well-child visits are routine checkups for a child to monitor their growth and development.
• Requires coverage of speech therapy services under Medicaid and CHIP.
  • This bill does not include a coverage mandate for private insurers.
  • The bill sets a floor for speech therapy coverage to prevent disparate treatment for stuttering vs. other speech therapy services. For example, if a state covers speech therapy for ten sessions for another speech fluency disorder, then it must cover stuttering treatment for at least ten sessions as well.