Private Insurers Must Now Cover Dyslexia Testing in New York

By Claire Fahy

A significant hurdle facing dyslexic children in New York was cleared on Wednesday, when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law that requires private insurers to cover the costs of key diagnostic tests.

The bill, the first of its kind passed in the United States, is designed to increase early diagnoses of dyslexia and other learning differences, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D.

Education leaders in New York have been slow to understand and adapt to dyslexia. Many students who struggle to read because of the condition are believed to have fallen through the cracks as the state has searched for ways to identify them and help them catch up.

As many as 10 to 20 percent of New York City students are estimated to be dyslexic, a share that Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the state senator who sponsored the bill, referred to as “daunting.”

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