In accordance with the national decree establishing general measures, of 29 August 2023, and which stipulates rules regarding the right to speech therapy assistance, as of 2 September 2023 speech therapy has been included in the AZV insurance coverage. This is beneficial for both children and adults.
This means that if your Family Doctor or specialist finds it necessary they can refer you for treatment to a speech therapist. Speech therapy is the treatment to restore, improve or maintain the functioning of the ear, voice or organs of speech.
Additionally, speech therapy can help with breathing difficulties and when there is difficulty in eating, drinking or swallowing. According to procedure your Family Doctor or specialist (such as those who may prescribe speech therapy) makes the request for approval at the AZV medical advisor. The medical advisor of AZV may approve the request for a maximum of 15 sessions in 1 year of treatment (= 1 year of treatment = 12 months after the first session). In exceptional cases, 10 more sessions may be given.
Treatment may be ordered for the following cases: hearing impairment and deterioration of hearing function, voice disorders, language disorders, reading and writing disorders, articulation disorders, nasal disorders, disorders in the fluency and rhythm of speech, and abnormal oral behavior. To give a few examples. A person with Parkinson’s disease and a family doctor see that they will need help from speech therapy.
Or a person who falls under the autism spectrum. Or a person who has had a stroke may need to learn to speak or to walk again. What is not covered? By law AZV cannot authorize treatment if it is unnecessarily expensive, complicated or ineffective. Treatment for dyslexia, dialect-related language development or other language and music therapy may also not be approved. For speech therapy there is a personal contribution of 10% of the fee. The 10% own contribution is paid at each session and directly to the speech therapist. Currently the fee is 75 florins per session and lasts 30 minutes. The extension of AZV to speech therapy is a new process and requires good organization. The AZV together with speech-language logopedist are in discussions to organize this in the best possible way. That could mean waiting a few weeks or months. It requires the cooperation and patience of each insured within this process.
