Choose Carefully: Not All ABA Centers Are Created Equal

Are you still angry? As an Indiana taxpayer, you have every right to be angry about the 15+ ABA Therapy providers who billed excessively. I’m angry at them too. What these providers did was unethical and has threatened the very existence of ABA Therapy in the state of Indiana.

How?‍ ‍

The Braun administration and others in Indiana legislature have publicly stated they plan to make additional cuts to Medicaid and ABA Therapy reimbursement during the next budget session in 2027. These anticipated cuts to ABA Therapy are on top of previous cuts in 2025. And Indiana Medicaid’s change back to “fee for service” reimbursement of ABA Therapy rates in 2024.

If you or your loved one relies on Medicaid in ANY WAY, you need to be paying attention to what our legislative officials are saying and compare it to what they are doing. ‍ (I’ll be writing more about this in a future blog post.)

This generalization of ABA Therapy providers is a problem that has yet to be addressed in any meaningful way by the current administration.  We know that from the data shown in the Wall Street Journal article dated March 10, 2026, that roughly 15 +ABA Therapy providers clearly billed excessively. This means that the majority of the ABA Therapy providers in the state of Indiana were NOT EXCESSIVELY BILLING.

However, they are being punished as if they did.

Why does this matter? First, it hurts privately owned Hoosier ABA clinics more than their corporate and private equity owned counterparts. It also hurts Hoosier autistics, their families and Hoosier taxpayers as well.

• If these FEW unethical ABA Therapy companies were the ones abusing Indiana Medicaid, why is the state punishing ALL providers? Surely the Braun administration understands that the ones who abused the system are better positioned to survive these cuts? Does anyone think the moral compass of these unethical companies has suddenly changed? I don’t.

• If these companies were unethical in their billing practices, what other area could they be unethical? Do we really want to leave our most vulnerable children in their care?

• When the state lowers reimbursement rates again - they are already planning on it - Hoosier owned ABA clinics will close first. They generally have less $$ in the bank and are less likely to compromise on their standards on providing care to their clients.

• What the state lowers reimbursement rates, the ABA clinics that can survive will have to cut costs. What corners will they cut in order to meet the expectation of regular dividend payouts to investors?

• What happens when corporate and private equity owned ABA Therapy clinics decide to leave Indiana altogether because it’s not profitable, leaving families with no options for their children? (Think this isn’t a possibility? Think again.)

Families need to choose carefully when selecting an ABA Therapy provider for their child and because of the recently imposed 4,000- hour lifetime cap it is more important than ever to choose the right provider the first time. We have a webpage that can help.‍ ‍4,000 hours is not a lot of time and if you spend a year at a clinic and see few results, it will be harder to find another clinic to pick up where your previous provider left off, let alone make substantial progress in the shorter amount of time that is left. Also know that as we lose providers, that wait lists will grow. You will not be able to switch providers as easily as in the past, again making it very important to choose wisely the first time. ABA Therapy providers with good reputations often have longer waitlists and more expectations from families. Keep in mind you are not just interviewing them; they are interviewing you as well. There are financial incentives motivating providers to choose particular clients and although you might remain on their waitlist, you may be passed over for another client that is more profitable in the short term.

I’ve been writing about ABA Therapy a lot lately and that’s because there is a lot of things that are changing in this very important service. If you have questions about ABA Therapy - or anything else :) - we are here to help. Our one-on-one consultation services are free. Contact us at info@myautismally.org or 260-207-4686 and we can talk through your concerns, answer the questions you didn’t know to ask, and help you figure out what’s best for your loved one and family.