Virginia Caps Medicaid ABA Hours a Year After Raising Rates
One year after the state raised ABA rates to address a workforce shortage, a budget provision that took effect July 1 limits Applied Behavior Analysis to 20 hours a week per Medicaid…
Industry Analysis
CareSource Says Costs Justify 20% Cut, Lawmaker Disagrees and Explains How Capitation Works
CareSource is paid a fixed sum to absorb the risk of rising demand. When demand rose, it cut provider pay instead, and a state hearing put the design of capitation on trial.
Ohio Behavioral Health Crackdown Slows New Provider Licensing, Impacts ABA Providers
Ohio revamps how it vets behavioral health providers. The slowdown in approving new applicants hit an ABA Medicaid network that is already short of providers.
Medicaid Cuts Push Behavior Analysts to Look Beyond Autism
Most of the country’s behavior analysts build their careers on a single diagnosis. As states slash autism reimbursement, an old argument is resurfacing: the science was never meant to treat just one.
Connecticut BCBA Sentenced for $102K Medicaid Fraud
Glenroy Patterson billed the state for ABA sessions that never happened.
Adult Autism Ranks Among NIH’s Least-Funded Priorities
A new Autism Speaks dashboard shows how little research money reaches autistic adults, even as the autism investment community calls them the sector’s most underserved, and most investable, frontier.
Autistic Adults Age Out of ABA Coverage at 21 in Most States
The adult segment is the fastest-growing corner of an $8 billion ABA market, projected to expand at more than double the industry’s overall rate through 2031. Outside a handful of states, such…
Lawrence County Gets Its First ABA Clinic. Most Rural Counties Still Have None.
A local behavior analyst is opening the first ABA clinic in a rural Arkansas county. The milestone doubles as a marker of how thin autism care stays across most of rural America.
BACB Report: RBT Turnover a Pervasive and Intractable ABA Challenge
The technicians who deliver nearly every hour of autism therapy earn about $20.50 an hour, churn at rates approaching one departure for every seat each year, and hold no occupation code of…
What McGuireWoods 2026 Means for ABA Platform Exits
Financing is back and behavioral health is in favor, dealmakers signaled in Chicago. The harder question for autism-therapy owners is the one the room kept asking, about who buys the boom-era roll-ups…
A Flight to Quality Is Reshaping ABA Dealmaking in 2026
Deal volume has rebounded and private equity is back, but buyers are paying premium prices only for clinically strong, well-run providers, and walking past the Medicaid-dependent, fast-grown operators that defined the last…
Capitation Models Undermine ABA Therapy Access and Harm Families
Under capitation, managed care organizations receive a fixed monthly payment per enrollee. A child needing 30 hours per week of ABA costs $8,840 per month. The typical Medicaid capitation rate for a…
Can Instant Interviews Fix ABA’s Labor-Shortage Crisis?
Autism Behavior Services can now interview applicants minutes after they apply. ABA applicants often field several offers at once, employers that respond quickly frequently win. If those hires can be retained over…
Action Behavior Centers Enters Pennsylvania as PE-Backed ABA Operators Push De Novo Growth
Charlesbank-backed ABC opened three Philadelphia-suburban centers in April, while Cerberus-backed Lighthouse and GTCR-backed Caravel announced or opened at least nine more clinics across Iowa, North Carolina, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The 2026…
West Virginia ABA Coalition Takes On a 2,000-Family Waitlist
Three lead partners, two grants, and a five-year strategy. What the We Develop ABA coalition is actually doing, what it can and cannot fix, and the parts other underserved states could copy.
Abu Dhabi Builds Global Autism Platform With ADNOC Backing
The 4th International Autism Conference drew about 6,000 participants and 86 international speakers before closing on April 28 with a strategic rebrand. The Zayed Authority for People of Determination will reorganize the…
ABA Test-Prep Market Booms as BCBA Pass Rates Slide
The 2025 BCBA exam posted a 51% first-time pass rate, the lowest the Behavior Analyst Certification Board has ever recorded. The same year, U.S. employers posted 132,307 jobs requiring the credential against…
Behavioral Health Tech 2026 Unveils Exclusive I/DD CEO Retreat
Behavioral Health Tech will co-locate the Strategic Executive Expansion Retreat, an invite-only gathering for chief executives of the country’s largest intellectual and developmental disability providers, with its September 22 to 24 conference…
ABAI Kicks Off 52nd Annual Convention in San Francisco
Thousands of behavior analysts gather for five days of workshops, research, and networking at the Moscone Center West.
Autism Investor Summit West Returns to Scottsdale This May
The premier investor-focused conference unites ABA providers, private equity, and technology firms for critical discussions on industry challenges and opportunities.
Gracyn Conner Reimagines Hygiene Learning for Autistic Kids
The pediatric occupational therapist's app, Hygiene Hippie, aims to maintain consistency in client routines despite high turnover among RBTs.
ABA Operators Gain New Framework to Measure Outcomes Effectively
A recent paper outlines a five-step strategy for ABA organizations to balance outcomes measurement, addressing the needs of clinicians, families, and payers.
Caravel Expands into Iowa and Missouri Amid ABA Service Shortages
The GTCR-backed provider opens clinics in Des Moines and Liberty, addressing critical waitlist issues for families seeking ABA therapy.
Early Intervention Timing Crucial for Autism Outcomes
Research shows starting parent-mediated interventions at 18 months yields better developmental results than waiting until 27 months.
Cielo Behavioral Health Launches Unique ABA Center Near Austin
The new Early Skills Center offers play-based therapy without requiring an autism diagnosis, targeting affluent families in overlooked suburbs.
States Slash ABA Medicaid Rates as Spending Surges Past $2 Billion
Nebraska, North Carolina, Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington cut rates amid a tripling of ABA spending, sparking provider disputes and lawsuits.
Centene Divests Magellan at a $513 Million Loss Amid ABA Costs
The sale highlights ongoing challenges in the behavioral health sector, with ABA expenses cited as a significant factor in Centene's financial struggles.
Texas Leads ABA Growth Amid Weak Oversight and Looming Audits
With rapid expansion and minimal regulation, Texas faces scrutiny as federal auditors prepare to investigate its burgeoning ABA Medicaid market.
Private Equity Shifts Focus from Acquisitions to New ABA Clinics
As acquisition costs rise and Medicaid uncertainty looms, firms are opting for de novo clinic openings to drive growth.
ABA M&A Market Surges in Q1 2025 with 12 Major Deals
The latest data reveals a significant rebound in the ABA sector, with transaction volumes reaching their highest levels since 2021.