Ex-NBA player scores victory with Kentucky bill to expand coverage for stuttering treatment

Former basketball star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored a victory Thursday as a leading advocate for a new Kentucky law that will expand insurance coverage for people seeking treatment for stuttering.

Kidd-Gilchrist, who played on a national championship team at the University of Kentucky and spent several years playing in the NBA, opened up about his own struggles with stuttering.

He appeared before Kentucky lawmakers to endorse the bill, which sailed through the Republican-dominated legislature and was signed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

At a bill signing ceremony Thursday, Kidd-Gilchrist spoke about the accomplishment he hopes will have a lasting impact for others striving to overcome speech difficulties.

“I weathered the storm of being picked on, teased and such like that,” he said. “I just want to thank you guys — just being heard at this magnitude. I’m not just a national champion here anymore. I’m a person who made a real impact in this state. I want to thank you guys for the opportunity.”

Speech therapy is the mainstay of stuttering treatment. Globally, 70 million people stutter and President Joe Biden has spoken publicly about being mocked by classmates and a nun in Catholic school for his own speech impediment. He said overcoming it was one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

On Thursday, Beshear praised the Kentucky bill — Senate Bill 111 — that will require insurers to cover speech therapy costs to treat stuttering.

“Speech therapy can make a world of difference and now everyone is going to be able to have that coverage,” the governor said.

During a Kentucky Senate debate on the bill last month, Republican state Sen. Whitney Westerfield spoke about the obstacles many people face in getting the treatment