Gov. Josh Shapiro is poised to sign a law ensuring private insurers cover treatment for children who stutter. And for one Allegheny County state lawmaker getting the legislation passed has been a deeply personal mission.
Brandon Markosek, a Democrat who represents Monroeville, is a lifelong stutterer and says he didn’t speak until age 3, but he was fortunate to access speech therapy as a child.
“As a young kid, my parents took me to a children's hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment … different breathing techniques and things like that can be done," he said. "But stuttering is a physical disability. Most people do grow out of it by age 18, but some don't.”
And some also don't have the opportunity to see a speech language pathologist, Markosek said — even though early intervention can improve kids’ lives.
That appears about to change thanks to HB 2268, Markosek's bill amending a 100-year-old insurance law to guarantee speech therapy in early childhood is covered by private insurers. The measure received a unanimous vote in the Republican-controlled Senate last week, and previously received widespread support in the House, where only 21 out of 202 votes were cast against it.
Shapiro is expected to sign the bill into law later this month.
In the past, policymakers have amended the law to include insurance coverage requirements for epipens, insulin price caps and prostate cancer screenings.
About 1% of the population stutters, but few of those serve as state-level politicians, Markosek said. It’s a physical disability that often develops in childhood and affects some 3 million Americans, or 130,000 Pennsylvanians. Maybe the most notable stutterer today is President Joe Biden.
“Not quite every word might be as bad for me anymore, but I still do stutter on a daily basis,” Markosek said. “I still see a speech therapist to this day, too.”
Markosek has previously sought House support for a Pennsylvania stuttering awareness week and co-sponsored bills to create a public “purple alert” system for people with intellectual disabilities who go missing and offer ID card designations for those on the autism spectrum.
Friends in tall places
Markosek credits NBA veteran Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — who has championed stuttering legislation in Kentucky and, recently, in Harrisburg — for inspiration.
The Philadelphia-born athlete said he didn't have access to treatment for his own stutter until age 18, when began college at the University of Kentucky. There, he won a national championship and went onto the NBA as the second-overall draft pick, to Charlotte.
With that prestige, lawmakers around the country are listening to Kidd-Gilchrist, who still stutters as an adult.
“I will always have this problem,” Kidd-Gilchrist told WESA, adding that at times he was called names growing up. But he believes excelling at basketball helped him find acceptance. “I'm just proud of myself for going through what I have in my life to now help those in the state of Pennsylvania.”
In April, a bill similar to Markosek's was signed into law in Kentucky, with a push from Kidd-Gilchrist’s nonprofit Change & Impact. (The Kentucky measure includes Medicaid and CHIP coverage; Markosek's bill does not, as a result of an amendment made in a House committee.) Months later, the advocate met with Pennsylvania House members at the Capitol, bolstering Markosek’s stutter protections bill. The NBA star-turned-activist also spoke with experts at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health on a tour of support.
Kidd-Gilchrist has headed to dozens of states to address the stigma of stuttering. His spokesperson said his nonprofit is backing efforts to move similar legislation in New Jersey, Illinois, Tennessee and California.
