ISHA Leadership Project: Promoting Health Insurance Literacy for Families

Published in the March 2026 issue of the ISHA Voice.

By Susannah York, co-chair of the Billing and Reimbursement Committee and ISHA’s Leadership Development Program 2026 Graduate

Like many speech-language pathologists, I have had a chance over the years to work in a variety of settings.  I think also like many SLPs, especially at the midpoint of my career, I have experienced feelings of frustration and stagnation.  This led me over the past year or so, to think more critically about how to advance my career into organizational leadership, which led me to the ISHA Leadership Project opportunity. 

As I set out brainstorming ideas for the leadership project requirement, I reflected on my varied professional experiences, looking for threads weaving them together.  I began my career working in public schools, followed by Early Intervention work, then years of owning a small private practice.  Throughout this time I encountered so many families who felt incredibly overwhelmed about how to navigate complex systems to access therapy.  Families often felt confused about access points and procedures, for publicly funded services like Early Intervention and school-based services, as well as for supplemental or outside services.  Like many other providers, I found that families struggled to understand their health insurance and how to utilize it for therapy services.  I heard directly from families who were frustrated and angry that their benefits did not cover therapy as they had expected, that their costs were too high, or that they simply did not know how to get the information they needed from their insurance companies. 

When we say “health insurance” in this country, I think we all feel a collective shudder.  Understanding and navigating health insurance can be extremely overwhelming.  Health insurance truly feels like a different language- from deductibles and copays to pre-authorizations and referrals to CPT and ICD-10 codes.  When I started my own small practice, I spent an unbelievable amount of time studying up in this area, and I could have spent even more.  I have constantly thought to myself along the way, “if this is my profession, and I am struggling to navigate this, how are my clients going to feel confident in their efforts to support their children or family members?”

We know that decreased health literacy negatively impacts all health outcomes, which encompasses speech-language and other therapies.  For my project, I thought about how to simplify some of these core health insurance concepts to interested, but perhaps confused, families. My goal was to develop a quick ‘one-pager’ which could provide a brief reference guide for families who are considering accessing therapy through their insurance.  I decided to simplify this information into important definitions, questions to ask their insurance companies directly, and suggestions for how to navigate limited benefits.  Given my experience as a bilingual speech-language pathologist, I decided to create this resource in English and Spanish.  I also added a QR code with additional resources, such as where to purchase marketplace insurance, common questions around AAC devices, and informative websites.  

To develop this document, I searched through common publicly accessible websites, including those from the state and federal government as well as commercial insurance companies.  I am also happy to share that this leadership cohort was extremely helpful in this endeavor as well, always willing to provide feedback about what information might be most crucial and what might prove to be informational or visual overload.  I narrowed that information down into the one-page document.  Once developed, I worked on distributing it to various social media platforms, shared with colleagues, and sent to outpatient and private clinics in my area.  I also sent it via Linked-in, in the hopes of reaching some outside of Illinois.  It has been exciting to see a positive response from colleagues as well as requests from SLPs on social media for more information.  My hope is that this resource makes its way to families who may be feeling overwhelmed by their options for using insurance for therapy.  

Participating in the ISHA leadership program gave me a chance to think more critically about what it truly means to be a leader.  Often in our society, leadership brings to mind the for-profit industry- the illustrious CEO or CFO of a large corporation, for example.  This program inspired me to think about how leadership also includes the initiative to identify problems, enact goals, develop solutions, and support our communities.  When I first started developing this idea, I even asked my mentor whether this was ‘just outreach’, and not leadership.  However, of course advocacy is leadership!  In the complex and challenging times in which we are currently living, when our clients’ abilities to access therapy across settings is threatened more than ever, providing support around access feels extremely important.  I am grateful I was able to participate in this program and further flex and advance these types of leadership skills.  

Anyone interested in accessing the flyer can find it here, along with other resources.