MN HF4247

Health plans must cover augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems—electronic or nonelectronic devices that help people with severe expressive communication limitations—including repair, replacement, and habilitation services (speech therapy for assessment, selection, and training), when deemed medically necessary by a prescribing physician.

Health plans cannot impose separate financial requirements or quantitative limits on AAC systems and associated habilitation services, and cannot deny coverage solely based on actual or perceived disability.

The Commissioner of Commerce must reimburse health plan companies for coverage costs that exceed what plans provided as of January 1, 2025, with an open-ended appropriation each fiscal year to fund these payments.

Medical Assistance (Medicaid) provisions are updated to align AAC system definitions with the new statute, and electronic tablets used as AAC devices qualify as durable medical equipment when locked to communication-only use.

Effective January 1, 2026, applying to all health plans offered, issued, or renewed on or after that date.