House Committee Asked The Perfect Child Twice for ABA Billing Records. A Subpoena May Follow

WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating The Perfect Child’s billing warned the Brooklyn ABA provider on August 21 that it could subpoena records if the company failed to answer a second request for information.

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Rick Allen (R-GA) sent the follow-up letter to founder Simcha Bendet. They said neither Bendet nor anyone acting for the company had responded to their July 6 request, which set a July 20 deadline. The new deadline was September 4. “Your failure to respond to the Committee’s initial request has only served to heighten the Committee’s concerns,” they wrote. The committee released the second letter publicly on August 21.

The letter repeats 12 requests covering records from January 1, 2020, onward. They include the company’s 25 highest-reimbursed claims; its highest annual amount billed for a single patient in each calendar year; annual gross revenue from employer-sponsored plans and from in-network and out-of-network claims; and billing and collection policies.

BreakingNewsABA previously reported on the July request. The committee says the records will help it consider changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, which governs the employer health plans under review. The second letter warns that failure to respond could lead to a subpoena or other action. The July letter contained no such warning.

The inquiry followed a June 1 Wall Street Journal investigation. The Journal reported that The Perfect Child billed health plans up to about $13,000 an hour, roughly 150 times the average rate paid to in-network providers. The $13,000 figure refers to billed charges; the benchmark reflects insurers’ payments. The company and its affiliates had sued at least 19 patient families and employers since late 2024 to collect payments, according to the Journal’s June reporting. The Journal also reported that New Jersey mother Carolina Lopez received a $911,400 bill for her son’s therapy in April 2026. The Journal reported that Bendet and the company did not respond to its inquiries.

As of September 17, a review of the committee’s public updates did not establish whether the company met the September 4 deadline or whether the committee had since issued a subpoena. The inquiry itself is not a finding of wrongdoing. Under Committee Rule 10, Walberg can authorize and issue a subpoena without a committee vote. He must first notify the committee’s top Democrat and, where practicable, consult that member at least 24 hours beforehand, excluding weekends and federal holidays. He must also notify all committee members in writing as soon as practicable after issuing it.

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