NV
Nevada Assembly Bill AB169

Nevada 2025 Regular Session

Nevada Assembly Bill AB169 Compare Versions

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33 A.B. 169
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55 - *AB169*
66
77 ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 169–ASSEMBLYMEMBER YEAGER
88
99 PREFILED JANUARY 31, 2025
1010 ____________
1111
1212 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
1313
1414 SUMMARY—Requires that certain health insurance policies and
1515 health plans cover speech-language pathology for
1616 certain purposes. (BDR 57-735)
1717
1818 FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
1919 Effect on the State: Yes.
2020
2121 CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§ 14)
2222 (NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
2323
2424 ~
2525
2626 EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
2727
2828
2929 AN ACT relating to insurance; requiring that certain health
3030 insurance policies and health plans include coverage for
3131 certain forms of speech-language pathology as treatment
3232 for stuttering for persons who are less than 18 years of
3333 age; prohibiting certain limitations on such coverage; and
3434 providing other matters properly relating thereto.
3535 Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
3636 Existing law requires public and private policies of insurance regulated under 1
3737 Nevada law to include certain coverage. (NRS 287.010, 287.04335, 422.27172-2
3838 422.272428, 689A.04033-689A.0465, 689B.0303-689B.0379, 689C.1652-3
3939 689C.169, 689C.194, 689C.1945, 689C.195, 689C.425, 695A.184-695A.1875, 4
4040 695A.265, 695B.1901-695B.1948, 695C.050, 695C.1691-695C.176, 695G.162-5
4141 695G.177) Existing law also requires employers to provide certain benefits for 6
4242 health care to employees, including the coverage required of health insurers, if the 7
4343 employer provides health benefits for its employees. (NRS 608.1555) 8
4444 Sections 2, 4-10, 12 and 14-16 of this bill require that certain public and 9
4545 private policies of health insurance and health plans, including Medicaid, include 10
4646 coverage for habilitative and rehabilitative speech-language pathology as a 11
4747 treatment for stuttering for persons who are less than 18 years of age. Sections 1, 2, 12
4848 4-10, 12 and 14-16 of this bill additionally prohibit an insurer from imposing a 13
4949 maximum annual limit on the coverage, limiting coverage based on the cause of the 14
5050 stuttering or imposing medical management techniques on those benefits. Section 15
5151 13 of this bill makes a conforming change to require the Director of the Department 16
5252 of Health and Human Services to administer the provisions of section 16 in the 17
5353 same manner as other provisions relating to Medicaid. Section 3 of this bill 18
5454 authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to require that certain policies of health 19
5555 – 2 –
5656
5757
5858 - *AB169*
5959 insurance issued by a domestic insurer to a person who resides in another state 20
6060 include the coverage required by section 2. Section 11 of this bill authorizes the 21
6161 Commissioner to suspend or revoke the certificate of a health maintenance 22
6262 organization that fails to comply with the requirements of section 9. The 23
6363 Commissioner would also be authorized to take such action against other health 24
6464 insurers who fail to comply with the requirements of sections 2, 4-8 or 12. 25
6565 (NRS 680A.200) 26
6666
6767
6868 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
6969 SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
7070
7171 Section 1. NRS 687B.225 is hereby amended to read as 1
7272 follows: 2
7373 687B.225 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 3
7474 689A.0405, 689A.0412, 689A.0413, 689A.0418, 689A.0437, 4
7575 689A.044, 689A.0445, 689A.0459, 689B.031, 689B.0312, 5
7676 689B.0313, 689B.0315, 689B.0317, 689B.0319, 689B.0374, 6
7777 689B.0378, 689C.1665, 689C.1671, 689C.1675, 689C.1676, 7
7878 695A.1843, 695A.1856, 695A.1865, 695A.1874, 695B.1912, 8
7979 695B.1913, 695B.1914, 695B.1919, 695B.19197, 695B.1924, 9
8080 695B.1925, 695B.1942, 695C.1696, 695C.1699, 695C.1713, 10
8181 695C.1735, 695C.1737, 695C.1743, 695C.1745, 695C.1751, 11
8282 695G.170, 695G.1705, 695G.171, 695G.1714, 695G.1715, 12
8383 695G.1719 [and] 695G.177, and sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 12 of 13
8484 this act, any contract for group, blanket or individual health 14
8585 insurance or any contract by a nonprofit hospital, medical or dental 15
8686 service corporation or organization for dental care which provides 16
8787 for payment of a certain part of medical or dental care may require 17
8888 the insured or member to obtain prior authorization for that care 18
8989 from the insurer or organization. The insurer or organization shall: 19
9090 (a) File its procedure for obtaining approval of care pursuant to 20
9191 this section for approval by the Commissioner; and 21
9292 (b) Unless a shorter time period is prescribed by a specific 22
9393 statute, including, without limitation, NRS 689A.0446, 689B.0361, 23
9494 689C.1688, 695A.1859, 695B.19087, 695C.16932 and 695G.1703, 24
9595 respond to any request for approval by the insured or member 25
9696 pursuant to this section within 20 days after it receives the request. 26
9797 2. The procedure for prior authorization may not discriminate 27
9898 among persons licensed to provide the covered care. 28
9999 Sec. 2. Chapter 689A of NRS is hereby amended by adding 29
100100 thereto a new section to read as follows: 30
101101 1. An insurer that offers or issues a policy of health 31
102102 insurance shall include in the policy coverage for habilitative 32
103103 speech-language pathology and rehabilitative speech-language 33
104104 – 3 –
105105
106106
107107 - *AB169*
108108 pathology as a treatment for stuttering for insureds who are less 1
109109 than 18 years of age. 2
110110 2. An insurer shall not: 3
111111 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 4
112112 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 5
113113 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 6
114114 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 7
115115 cause of the stuttering; or 8
116116 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 9
117117 management techniques. 10
118118 3. A policy of health insurance subject to the provisions of 11
119119 this chapter that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or 12
120120 after January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the 13
121121 coverage required by subsection 1, and any provision of the policy 14
122122 that conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 15
123123 4. As used in this section: 16
124124 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 17
125125 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 18
126126 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 19
127127 daily living. 20
128128 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 21
129129 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 22
130130 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 23
131131 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 24
132132 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 25
133133 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 26
134134 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 27
135135 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 28
136136 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 29
137137 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 30
138138 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 31
139139 Sec. 3. NRS 689A.330 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32
140140 689A.330 If any policy is issued by a domestic insurer for 33
141141 delivery to a person residing in another state, and if the insurance 34
142142 commissioner or corresponding public officer of that other state has 35
143143 informed the Commissioner that the policy is not subject to approval 36
144144 or disapproval by that officer, the Commissioner may by ruling 37
145145 require that the policy meet the standards set forth in NRS 689A.030 38
146146 to 689A.320, inclusive [.] , and section 2 of this act. 39
147147 Sec. 4. Chapter 689B of NRS is hereby amended by adding 40
148148 thereto a new section to read as follows: 41
149149 1. An insurer that offers or issues a policy of group health 42
150150 insurance shall include in the policy coverage for habilitative 43
151151 speech-language pathology and rehabilitative speech-language 44
152152 – 4 –
153153
154154
155155 - *AB169*
156156 pathology as a treatment for stuttering for insureds who are less 1
157157 than 18 years of age. 2
158158 2. An insurer shall not: 3
159159 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 4
160160 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 5
161161 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 6
162162 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 7
163163 cause of the stuttering; or 8
164164 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 9
165165 management techniques. 10
166166 3. A policy of group health insurance subject to the 11
167167 provisions of this chapter that is delivered, issued for delivery or 12
168168 renewed on or after January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of 13
169169 including the coverage required by subsection 1, and any 14
170170 provision of the policy that conflicts with the provisions of this 15
171171 section is void. 16
172172 4. As used in this section: 17
173173 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 18
174174 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 19
175175 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 20
176176 daily living. 21
177177 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 22
178178 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 23
179179 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 24
180180 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 25
181181 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 26
182182 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 27
183183 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 28
184184 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 29
185185 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 30
186186 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 31
187187 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 32
188188 Sec. 5. Chapter 689C of NRS is hereby amended by adding 33
189189 thereto a new section to read as follows: 34
190190 1. A carrier that offers or issues a health benefit plan shall 35
191191 include in the plan coverage for habilitative speech-language 36
192192 pathology and rehabilitative speech-language pathology as a 37
193193 treatment for stuttering for insureds who are less than 18 years of 38
194194 age. 39
195195 2. A carrier shall not: 40
196196 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 41
197197 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 42
198198 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 43
199199 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 44
200200 cause of the stuttering; or 45
201201 – 5 –
202202
203203
204204 - *AB169*
205205 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 1
206206 management techniques. 2
207207 3. A health benefit plan subject to the provisions of this 3
208208 chapter that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after 4
209209 January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the coverage 5
210210 required by subsection 1, and any provision of the plan that 6
211211 conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 7
212212 4. As used in this section: 8
213213 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 9
214214 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 10
215215 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 11
216216 daily living. 12
217217 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 13
218218 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 14
219219 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 15
220220 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 16
221221 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 17
222222 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 18
223223 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 19
224224 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 20
225225 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 21
226226 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 22
227227 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 23
228228 Sec. 6. NRS 689C.425 is hereby amended to read as follows: 24
229229 689C.425 A voluntary purchasing group and any contract 25
230230 issued to such a group pursuant to NRS 689C.360 to 689C.600, 26
231231 inclusive, are subject to the provisions of NRS 689C.015 to 27
232232 689C.355, inclusive, and section 5 of this act to the extent 28
233233 applicable and not in conflict with the express provisions of NRS 29
234234 687B.408 and 689C.360 to 689C.600, inclusive. 30
235235 Sec. 7. Chapter 695A of NRS is hereby amended by adding 31
236236 thereto a new section to read as follows: 32
237237 1. A society that offers or issues a benefit contract shall 33
238238 include in the contract coverage for habilitative speech-language 34
239239 pathology and rehabilitative speech-language pathology as a 35
240240 treatment for stuttering for insureds who are less than 18 years of 36
241241 age. 37
242242 2. A society shall not: 38
243243 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 39
244244 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 40
245245 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 41
246246 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 42
247247 cause of the stuttering; or 43
248248 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 44
249249 management techniques. 45
250250 – 6 –
251251
252252
253253 - *AB169*
254254 3. A benefit contract subject to the provisions of this chapter 1
255255 that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after 2
256256 January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the coverage 3
257257 required by subsection 1, and any provision of the contract that 4
258258 conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 5
259259 4. As used in this section: 6
260260 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 7
261261 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 8
262262 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 9
263263 daily living. 10
264264 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 11
265265 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 12
266266 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 13
267267 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 14
268268 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 15
269269 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 16
270270 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 17
271271 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 18
272272 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 19
273273 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 20
274274 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 21
275275 Sec. 8. Chapter 695B of NRS is hereby amended by adding 22
276276 thereto a new section to read as follows: 23
277277 1. A hospital or medical services corporation that offers or 24
278278 issues a policy of health insurance shall include in the policy 25
279279 coverage for habilitative speech-language pathology and 26
280280 rehabilitative speech-language pathology as a treatment for 27
281281 stuttering for insureds who are less than 18 years of age. 28
282282 2. A hospital or medical services corporation shall not: 29
283283 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 30
284284 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 31
285285 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 32
286286 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 33
287287 cause of the stuttering; or 34
288288 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 35
289289 management techniques. 36
290290 3. A policy of health insurance subject to the provisions of 37
291291 this chapter that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or 38
292292 after January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the 39
293293 coverage required by subsection 1, and any provision of the policy 40
294294 that conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 41
295295 4. As used in this section: 42
296296 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 43
297297 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 44
298298 – 7 –
299299
300300
301301 - *AB169*
302302 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 1
303303 daily living. 2
304304 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 3
305305 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 4
306306 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 5
307307 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 6
308308 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 7
309309 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 8
310310 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 9
311311 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 10
312312 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 11
313313 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 12
314314 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 13
315315 Sec. 9. Chapter 695C of NRS is hereby amended by adding 14
316316 thereto a new section to read as follows: 15
317317 1. A health maintenance organization that offers or issues a 16
318318 health care plan shall include in the plan coverage for habilitative 17
319319 speech-language pathology and rehabilitative speech-language 18
320320 pathology as a treatment for stuttering for enrollees who are less 19
321321 than 18 years of age. 20
322322 2. A health maintenance organization shall not: 21
323323 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 22
324324 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 23
325325 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 24
326326 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 25
327327 cause of the stuttering; or 26
328328 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 27
329329 management techniques. 28
330330 3. A health care plan subject to the provisions of this chapter 29
331331 that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after 30
332332 January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the coverage 31
333333 required by subsection 1, and any provision of the plan that 32
334334 conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 33
335335 4. As used in this section: 34
336336 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 35
337337 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 36
338338 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 37
339339 daily living. 38
340340 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 39
341341 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 40
342342 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 41
343343 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 42
344344 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 43
345345 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 44
346346 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 45
347347 – 8 –
348348
349349
350350 - *AB169*
351351 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 1
352352 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 2
353353 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 3
354354 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 4
355355 Sec. 10. NRS 695C.050 is hereby amended to read as follows: 5
356356 695C.050 1. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or 6
357357 in specific provisions of this title, the provisions of this title are not 7
358358 applicable to any health maintenance organization granted a 8
359359 certificate of authority under this chapter. This provision does not 9
360360 apply to an insurer licensed and regulated pursuant to this title 10
361361 except with respect to its activities as a health maintenance 11
362362 organization authorized and regulated pursuant to this chapter. 12
363363 2. Solicitation of enrollees by a health maintenance 13
364364 organization granted a certificate of authority, or its representatives, 14
365365 must not be construed to violate any provision of law relating to 15
366366 solicitation or advertising by practitioners of a healing art. 16
367367 3. Any health maintenance organization authorized under this 17
368368 chapter shall not be deemed to be practicing medicine and is exempt 18
369369 from the provisions of chapter 630 of NRS. 19
370370 4. The provisions of NRS 695C.110, 695C.125, 695C.1691, 20
371371 695C.1693, 695C.170, 695C.1703, 695C.1705, 695C.1709 to 21
372372 695C.173, inclusive, 695C.1733, 695C.17335, 695C.1734, 22
373373 695C.1751, 695C.1755, 695C.1759, 695C.176 to 695C.200, 23
374374 inclusive, and 695C.265 do not apply to a health maintenance 24
375375 organization that provides health care services through managed 25
376376 care to recipients of Medicaid under the State Plan for Medicaid or 26
377377 insurance pursuant to the Children’s Health Insurance Program 27
378378 pursuant to a contract with the Division of Health Care Financing 28
379379 and Policy of the Department of Health and Human Services. This 29
380380 subsection does not exempt a health maintenance organization from 30
381381 any provision of this chapter for services provided pursuant to any 31
382382 other contract. 32
383383 5. The provisions of NRS 695C.16932 to 695C.1699, 33
384384 inclusive, 695C.1701, 695C.1708, 695C.1728, 695C.1731, 34
385385 695C.17333, 695C.17345, 695C.17347, 695C.1736 to 695C.1745, 35
386386 inclusive, 695C.1757 and 695C.204 and section 9 of this act apply 36
387387 to a health maintenance organization that provides health care 37
388388 services through managed care to recipients of Medicaid under the 38
389389 State Plan for Medicaid. 39
390390 6. The provisions of NRS 695C.17095 do not apply to a health 40
391391 maintenance organization that provides health care services to 41
392392 members of the Public Employees’ Benefits Program. This 42
393393 subsection does not exempt a health maintenance organization from 43
394394 any provision of this chapter for services provided pursuant to any 44
395395 other contract. 45
396396 – 9 –
397397
398398
399399 - *AB169*
400400 7. The provisions of NRS 695C.1735 do not apply to a health 1
401401 maintenance organization that provides health care services to: 2
402402 (a) The officers and employees, and the dependents of officers 3
403403 and employees, of the governing body of any county, school district, 4
404404 municipal corporation, political subdivision, public corporation or 5
405405 other local governmental agency of this State; or 6
406406 (b) Members of the Public Employees’ Benefits Program. 7
407407  This subsection does not exempt a health maintenance 8
408408 organization from any provision of this chapter for services 9
409409 provided pursuant to any other contract. 10
410410 Sec. 11. NRS 695C.330 is hereby amended to read as follows: 11
411411 695C.330 1. The Commissioner may suspend or revoke any 12
412412 certificate of authority issued to a health maintenance organization 13
413413 pursuant to the provisions of this chapter if the Commissioner finds 14
414414 that any of the following conditions exist: 15
415415 (a) The health maintenance organization is operating 16
416416 significantly in contravention of its basic organizational document, 17
417417 its health care plan or in a manner contrary to that described in and 18
418418 reasonably inferred from any other information submitted pursuant 19
419419 to NRS 695C.060, 695C.070 and 695C.140, unless any amendments 20
420420 to those submissions have been filed with and approved by the 21
421421 Commissioner; 22
422422 (b) The health maintenance organization issues evidence of 23
423423 coverage or uses a schedule of charges for health care services 24
424424 which do not comply with the requirements of NRS 695C.1691 to 25
425425 695C.200, inclusive, and section 9 of this act, 695C.204 or 26
426426 695C.207; 27
427427 (c) The health care plan does not furnish comprehensive health 28
428428 care services as provided for in NRS 695C.060; 29
429429 (d) The Commissioner certifies that the health maintenance 30
430430 organization: 31
431431 (1) Does not meet the requirements of subsection 1 of NRS 32
432432 695C.080; or 33
433433 (2) Is unable to fulfill its obligations to furnish health care 34
434434 services as required under its health care plan; 35
435435 (e) The health maintenance organization is no longer financially 36
436436 responsible and may reasonably be expected to be unable to meet its 37
437437 obligations to enrollees or prospective enrollees; 38
438438 (f) The health maintenance organization has failed to put into 39
439439 effect a mechanism affording the enrollees an opportunity to 40
440440 participate in matters relating to the content of programs pursuant to 41
441441 NRS 695C.110; 42
442442 (g) The health maintenance organization has failed to put into 43
443443 effect the system required by NRS 695C.260 for: 44
444444 – 10 –
445445
446446
447447 - *AB169*
448448 (1) Resolving complaints in a manner reasonably to dispose 1
449449 of valid complaints; and 2
450450 (2) Conducting external reviews of adverse determinations 3
451451 that comply with the provisions of NRS 695G.241 to 695G.310, 4
452452 inclusive; 5
453453 (h) The health maintenance organization or any person on its 6
454454 behalf has advertised or merchandised its services in an untrue, 7
455455 misrepresentative, misleading, deceptive or unfair manner; 8
456456 (i) The continued operation of the health maintenance 9
457457 organization would be hazardous to its enrollees or creditors or to 10
458458 the general public; 11
459459 (j) The health maintenance organization fails to provide the 12
460460 coverage required by NRS 695C.1691; or 13
461461 (k) The health maintenance organization has otherwise failed to 14
462462 comply substantially with the provisions of this chapter. 15
463463 2. A certificate of authority must be suspended or revoked only 16
464464 after compliance with the requirements of NRS 695C.340. 17
465465 3. If the certificate of authority of a health maintenance 18
466466 organization is suspended, the health maintenance organization shall 19
467467 not, during the period of that suspension, enroll any additional 20
468468 groups or new individual contracts, unless those groups or persons 21
469469 were contracted for before the date of suspension. 22
470470 4. If the certificate of authority of a health maintenance 23
471471 organization is revoked, the organization shall proceed, immediately 24
472472 following the effective date of the order of revocation, to wind up its 25
473473 affairs and shall conduct no further business except as may be 26
474474 essential to the orderly conclusion of the affairs of the organization. 27
475475 It shall engage in no further advertising or solicitation of any kind. 28
476476 The Commissioner may, by written order, permit such further 29
477477 operation of the organization as the Commissioner may find to be in 30
478478 the best interest of enrollees to the end that enrollees are afforded 31
479479 the greatest practical opportunity to obtain continuing coverage for 32
480480 health care. 33
481481 Sec. 12. Chapter 695G of NRS is hereby amended by adding 34
482482 thereto a new section to read as follows: 35
483483 1. A managed care organization that offers or issues a health 36
484484 care plan shall include in the plan coverage for habilitative 37
485485 speech-language pathology and rehabilitative speech-language 38
486486 pathology as a treatment for stuttering for insureds who are less 39
487487 than 18 years of age. 40
488488 2. A managed care organization shall not: 41
489489 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 42
490490 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 43
491491 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 44
492492 – 11 –
493493
494494
495495 - *AB169*
496496 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 1
497497 cause of the stuttering; or 2
498498 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 3
499499 management techniques. 4
500500 3. A health care plan subject to the provisions of this chapter 5
501501 that is delivered, issued for delivery or renewed on or after 6
502502 January 1, 2026, has the legal effect of including the coverage 7
503503 required by subsection 1, and any provision of the plan that 8
504504 conflicts with the provisions of this section is void. 9
505505 4. As used in this section: 10
506506 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 11
507507 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 12
508508 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 13
509509 daily living. 14
510510 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 15
511511 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 16
512512 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 17
513513 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 18
514514 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 19
515515 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 20
516516 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 21
517517 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 22
518518 services that constitute the practice of speech language pathology 23
519519 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 24
520520 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 25
521521 Sec. 13. NRS 232.320 is hereby amended to read as follows: 26
522522 232.320 1. The Director: 27
523523 (a) Shall appoint, with the consent of the Governor, 28
524524 administrators of the divisions of the Department, who are 29
525525 respectively designated as follows: 30
526526 (1) The Administrator of the Aging and Disability Services 31
527527 Division; 32
528528 (2) The Administrator of the Division of Welfare and 33
529529 Supportive Services; 34
530530 (3) The Administrator of the Division of Child and Family 35
531531 Services; 36
532532 (4) The Administrator of the Division of Health Care 37
533533 Financing and Policy; and 38
534534 (5) The Administrator of the Division of Public and 39
535535 Behavioral Health. 40
536536 (b) Shall administer, through the divisions of the Department, 41
537537 the provisions of chapters 63, 424, 425, 427A, 432A to 442, 42
538538 inclusive, 446 to 450, inclusive, 458A and 656A of NRS, NRS 43
539539 127.220 to 127.310, inclusive, 422.001 to 422.410, inclusive, and 44
540540 section 16 of this act, 422.580, 432.010 to 432.133, inclusive, 45
541541 – 12 –
542542
543543
544544 - *AB169*
545545 432B.6201 to 432B.626, inclusive, 444.002 to 444.430, inclusive, 1
546546 and 445A.010 to 445A.055, inclusive, and all other provisions of 2
547547 law relating to the functions of the divisions of the Department, but 3
548548 is not responsible for the clinical activities of the Division of Public 4
549549 and Behavioral Health or the professional line activities of the other 5
550550 divisions. 6
551551 (c) Shall administer any state program for persons with 7
552552 developmental disabilities established pursuant to the 8
553553 Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 9
554554 2000, 42 U.S.C. §§ 15001 et seq. 10
555555 (d) Shall, after considering advice from agencies of local 11
556556 governments and nonprofit organizations which provide social 12
557557 services, adopt a master plan for the provision of human services in 13
558558 this State. The Director shall revise the plan biennially and deliver a 14
559559 copy of the plan to the Governor and the Legislature at the 15
560560 beginning of each regular session. The plan must: 16
561561 (1) Identify and assess the plans and programs of the 17
562562 Department for the provision of human services, and any 18
563563 duplication of those services by federal, state and local agencies; 19
564564 (2) Set forth priorities for the provision of those services; 20
565565 (3) Provide for communication and the coordination of those 21
566566 services among nonprofit organizations, agencies of local 22
567567 government, the State and the Federal Government; 23
568568 (4) Identify the sources of funding for services provided by 24
569569 the Department and the allocation of that funding; 25
570570 (5) Set forth sufficient information to assist the Department 26
571571 in providing those services and in the planning and budgeting for the 27
572572 future provision of those services; and 28
573573 (6) Contain any other information necessary for the 29
574574 Department to communicate effectively with the Federal 30
575575 Government concerning demographic trends, formulas for the 31
576576 distribution of federal money and any need for the modification of 32
577577 programs administered by the Department. 33
578578 (e) May, by regulation, require nonprofit organizations and state 34
579579 and local governmental agencies to provide information regarding 35
580580 the programs of those organizations and agencies, excluding 36
581581 detailed information relating to their budgets and payrolls, which the 37
582582 Director deems necessary for the performance of the duties imposed 38
583583 upon him or her pursuant to this section. 39
584584 (f) Has such other powers and duties as are provided by law. 40
585585 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director, or 41
586586 the Director’s designee, is responsible for appointing and removing 42
587587 subordinate officers and employees of the Department. 43
588588 – 13 –
589589
590590
591591 - *AB169*
592592 Sec. 14. NRS 287.010 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
593593 287.010 1. The governing body of any county, school 2
594594 district, municipal corporation, political subdivision, public 3
595595 corporation or other local governmental agency of the State of 4
596596 Nevada may: 5
597597 (a) Adopt and carry into effect a system of group life, accident 6
598598 or health insurance, or any combination thereof, for the benefit of its 7
599599 officers and employees, and the dependents of officers and 8
600600 employees who elect to accept the insurance and who, where 9
601601 necessary, have authorized the governing body to make deductions 10
602602 from their compensation for the payment of premiums on the 11
603603 insurance. 12
604604 (b) Purchase group policies of life, accident or health insurance, 13
605605 or any combination thereof, for the benefit of such officers and 14
606606 employees, and the dependents of such officers and employees, as 15
607607 have authorized the purchase, from insurance companies authorized 16
608608 to transact the business of such insurance in the State of Nevada, 17
609609 and, where necessary, deduct from the compensation of officers and 18
610610 employees the premiums upon insurance and pay the deductions 19
611611 upon the premiums. 20
612612 (c) Provide group life, accident or health coverage through a 21
613613 self-insurance reserve fund and, where necessary, deduct 22
614614 contributions to the maintenance of the fund from the compensation 23
615615 of officers and employees and pay the deductions into the fund. The 24
616616 money accumulated for this purpose through deductions from the 25
617617 compensation of officers and employees and contributions of 26
618618 the governing body must be maintained as an internal service fund 27
619619 as defined by NRS 354.543. The money must be deposited in a state 28
620620 or national bank or credit union authorized to transact business in 29
621621 the State of Nevada. Any independent administrator of a fund 30
622622 created under this section is subject to the licensing requirements of 31
623623 chapter 683A of NRS, and must be a resident of this State. Any 32
624624 contract with an independent administrator must be approved by the 33
625625 Commissioner of Insurance as to the reasonableness of 34
626626 administrative charges in relation to contributions collected and 35
627627 benefits provided. The provisions of NRS 439.581 to 439.597, 36
628628 inclusive, 686A.135, 687B.352, 687B.408, 687B.692, 687B.723, 37
629629 687B.725, 687B.805, 689B.030 to 689B.0317, inclusive, paragraphs 38
630630 (b) and (c) of subsection 1 of NRS 689B.0319, subsections 2, 4, 6 39
631631 and 7 of NRS 689B.0319, 689B.033 to 689B.0369, inclusive, and 40
632632 section 4 of this act, 689B.0375 to 689B.050, inclusive, 689B.0675, 41
633633 689B.265, 689B.287 and 689B.500 apply to coverage provided 42
634634 pursuant to this paragraph, except that the provisions of NRS 43
635635 689B.0378, 689B.03785 and 689B.500 only apply to coverage for 44
636636 – 14 –
637637
638638
639639 - *AB169*
640640 active officers and employees of the governing body, or the 1
641641 dependents of such officers and employees. 2
642642 (d) Defray part or all of the cost of maintenance of a self-3
643643 insurance fund or of the premiums upon insurance. The money for 4
644644 contributions must be budgeted for in accordance with the laws 5
645645 governing the county, school district, municipal corporation, 6
646646 political subdivision, public corporation or other local governmental 7
647647 agency of the State of Nevada. 8
648648 2. If a school district offers group insurance to its officers and 9
649649 employees pursuant to this section, members of the board of trustees 10
650650 of the school district must not be excluded from participating in the 11
651651 group insurance. If the amount of the deductions from compensation 12
652652 required to pay for the group insurance exceeds the compensation to 13
653653 which a trustee is entitled, the difference must be paid by the trustee. 14
654654 3. In any county in which a legal services organization exists, 15
655655 the governing body of the county, or of any school district, 16
656656 municipal corporation, political subdivision, public corporation or 17
657657 other local governmental agency of the State of Nevada in the 18
658658 county, may enter into a contract with the legal services 19
659659 organization pursuant to which the officers and employees of the 20
660660 legal services organization, and the dependents of those officers and 21
661661 employees, are eligible for any life, accident or health insurance 22
662662 provided pursuant to this section to the officers and employees, and 23
663663 the dependents of the officers and employees, of the county, school 24
664664 district, municipal corporation, political subdivision, public 25
665665 corporation or other local governmental agency. 26
666666 4. If a contract is entered into pursuant to subsection 3, the 27
667667 officers and employees of the legal services organization: 28
668668 (a) Shall be deemed, solely for the purposes of this section, to be 29
669669 officers and employees of the county, school district, municipal 30
670670 corporation, political subdivision, public corporation or other local 31
671671 governmental agency with which the legal services organization has 32
672672 contracted; and 33
673673 (b) Must be required by the contract to pay the premiums or 34
674674 contributions for all insurance which they elect to accept or of which 35
675675 they authorize the purchase. 36
676676 5. A contract that is entered into pursuant to subsection 3: 37
677677 (a) Must be submitted to the Commissioner of Insurance for 38
678678 approval not less than 30 days before the date on which the contract 39
679679 is to become effective. 40
680680 (b) Does not become effective unless approved by the 41
681681 Commissioner. 42
682682 (c) Shall be deemed to be approved if not disapproved by the 43
683683 Commissioner within 30 days after its submission. 44
684684 – 15 –
685685
686686
687687 - *AB169*
688688 6. As used in this section, “legal services organization” means 1
689689 an organization that operates a program for legal aid and receives 2
690690 money pursuant to NRS 19.031. 3
691691 Sec. 15. NRS 287.04335 is hereby amended to read as 4
692692 follows: 5
693693 287.04335 If the Board provides health insurance through a 6
694694 plan of self-insurance, it shall comply with the provisions of NRS 7
695695 439.581 to 439.597, inclusive, 686A.135, 687B.352, 687B.409, 8
696696 687B.692, 687B.723, 687B.725, 687B.805, 689B.0353, 689B.255, 9
697697 695C.1723, 695G.150, 695G.155, 695G.160, 695G.162, 10
698698 695G.1635, 695G.164, 695G.1645, 695G.1665, 695G.167, 11
699699 695G.1675, 695G.170 to 695G.1712, inclusive, 695G.1714 to 12
700700 695G.174, inclusive, and section 12 of this act, 695G.176, 13
701701 695G.177, 695G.200 to 695G.230, inclusive, 695G.241 to 14
702702 695G.310, inclusive, 695G.405 and 695G.415, in the same manner 15
703703 as an insurer that is licensed pursuant to title 57 of NRS is required 16
704704 to comply with those provisions. 17
705705 Sec. 16. Chapter 422 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 18
706706 thereto a new section to read as follows: 19
707707 1. To the extent federal financial participation is available, 20
708708 the Director shall include under Medicaid coverage for 21
709709 habilitative speech-language pathology and rehabilitative speech-22
710710 language pathology as a treatment for stuttering for persons who 23
711711 are less than 18 years of age. 24
712712 2. Except where necessary to obtain federal financial 25
713713 participation, the Department shall not: 26
714714 (a) Set a maximum annual limit on the benefits described in 27
715715 subsection 1, including, without limitation, a limit on the number 28
716716 of annual visits to a speech-language pathologist; 29
717717 (b) Limit the benefits described in subsection 1 based on the 30
718718 cause of the stuttering; or 31
719719 (c) Subject the benefits described in subsection 1 to medical 32
720720 management techniques. 33
721721 3. The Department shall: 34
722722 (a) Apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for 35
723723 any waiver of federal law or apply for any amendment of the State 36
724724 Plan for Medicaid that is necessary for the Department to receive 37
725725 federal funding to provide the coverage described in subsection 1. 38
726726 (b) Fully cooperate in good faith with the Federal Government 39
727727 during the application process to satisfy the requirements of the 40
728728 Federal Government for obtaining a waiver or amendment 41
729729 pursuant to paragraph (a). 42
730730 4. As used in this section: 43
731731 (a) “Habilitative speech-language pathology” means services 44
732732 that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology which 45
733733 – 16 –
734734
735735
736736 - *AB169*
737737 help a person keep, learn or improve skills and functioning for 1
738738 daily living. 2
739739 (b) “Medical management technique” means a practice which 3
740740 is used to control the cost or use of health care services or 4
741741 prescription drugs. The term includes, without limitation, the use 5
742742 of step therapy, prior authorization and categorizing drugs and 6
743743 devices based on cost, type or method of administration. 7
744744 (c) “Practice of speech-language pathology” has the meaning 8
745745 ascribed to it in NRS 637B.060. 9
746746 (d) “Rehabilitative speech-language pathology” means 10
747747 services that constitute the practice of speech-language pathology 11
748748 which help a person restore or improve skills and functioning for 12
749749 daily living that have been lost or impaired. 13
750750 Sec. 17. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 14
751751 additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 15
752752 provisions of this act. 16
753753 Sec. 18. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 17
754754 approval. 18
755755 2. Sections 1 to 17, inclusive, of this act become effective: 19
756756 (a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 20
757757 regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 21
758758 tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 22
759759 (b) On January 1, 2026, for all other purposes. 23
760760
761761 H