AHCCCS coverage has been expanded to include speech and swallowing therapy for adults over 21 years of age after Senate Bill 1741 was included in the latest state budget.

The expansion benefits patients with head and neck cancer, ALS, and Parkinson’s, conditions that significantly impact communication and nutrition by ensuring crucial speech and swallowing therapies are now covered in-network. The patients previously had a gap in coverage.

Two Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center team members in Gilbert — Leah Mackie, a speech pathologist, and Sarah Glenn, associate director of rehabilitation services — championed the bill, which expands AHCCCS coverage to include speech and swallowing therapy for adults over 21 years of age.

Head and neck cancer affects nearly 2,000 Arizonans annually. Previously, the gap for patients with insurance through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System forced many to rely on feeding tubes for extended periods and permanently altering their ability to communicate.

"It’s truly amazing to see how something as fundamental as speaking and swallowing can be restored for patients who have faced so much,” Mackie said in a release from Banner Health. “This expanded coverage means we can help more people reclaim the quality of life they deserve. I am so grateful to be a part of this meaningful change.”

Said Glenn: “When people have trouble swallowing, food and water can go into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia — which can be life threatening. So while the tubes were necessary, they could cost up to $20,000 per hospital stay. They were expensive and diminishing the patient’s quality of life. We knew a change was needed.”

Patients and oncologists at Banner MD Anderson testified before state committees about the benefits of this bill — including Mackie, who spoke several times, as well as Dr. Gary Walker, division chief for radiation oncology at Banner MD Anderson.

Additionally, more than 900 people wrote letters to the state in support.

With the inclusion of SB1741 in this year’s budget, Mackie and Glenn said this will not only help head and neck cancer patients, but those in treatment for Parkinson’s, strokes, traumatic brain injury or ALS.

"This change is a testament to what can happen when our employees, advocates, and patients work together as one team,” said Jason Myers, chief operating officer of Banner Gateway Medical Center and Banner MD Anderson. “We remain committed to improving the outcomes for every patient we serve."

This change is expected to save the state nearly $3 million a year and officially goes into effect for AHCCCS-insured patients in October.