Kentucky already required some insurance coverage for prosthetic and orthotic devices, but the coverage often stopped at a basic, everyday-use device. It didn’t reach the kind of prosthesis built for running, swimming, or other physical activity, the difference between getting back to daily life and getting back to the life someone actually had before. SB 97 closes that gap.
The bill requires all health benefit plans, including the state employee health plan and self-insured plans at Kentucky’s public colleges and universities, to cover prostheses and orthoses, with minimum coverage standards, network adequacy requirements so patients can actually find a provider, and clear notice requirements if a claim is denied. Insurers have to report their claims data to the Department of Insurance so the state can track how the coverage is working in practice.
One clear note on timing, since this bill works differently than most others in this series. SB 97 does not take effect July 15 like the rest. Its coverage requirements apply to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027.
SB 97 was sponsored by Sen. Rick Girdler and ten cosponsors. It passed the Senate 38-0, the House 95-0 with a committee substitute and floor amendment, and received final Senate concurrence 38-0.