Palm Beach County parents say their children lost access to a critical autism therapy after Medicaid abruptly stopped covering it and Florida's health agency has not explained why. The therapy at the center of the dispute is Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA. The Cleveland Clinic describes it as a research-based behavior therapy for people with autism and other developmental disorders, adding that many studies have proven the effectiveness of ABA. Families connected to Reflection Services ABA Therapy in Lake Worth say they received notice that Medicaid would no longer cover their children's treatment.
Daura Mabel Sanchez Cano de Fundora said her son David is classified by his neurologist as level one on the autism spectrum. She described the progress he had made through ABA, saying his vocabulary have been increasingly amazing and he can understand what is happening. Myrian Suarez, a mother of two boys with autism, said ABA gave her son tools to manage his emotions.
Since the therapy stopped, Talia Quiroz said she has experienced dangerous regressions in her daughter's behavior. Suarez described similar physical consequences, saying she has bruised arms from one of her son's pinching.
Reports of Medicaid cuts to ABA therapy have surfaced in states across the country. The Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General audited Medicaid spending on ABA in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado. Its findings identified roughly $200 million in what it considers improper payments among the four states.
A separate audit in Nebraska found yearly Medicaid spending on ABA therapy multiplied 18 times over, across a five-year period. Questions were sent to Florida's Agency for Healthcare Administration, which runs the state's Medicaid program.