Autism Speaks chair, managed care plans up on next ABA task force agenda

Florida's 10-member ABA task force meets to hear testimony from managed care representatives at Simply Healthcare, Sunshine Health and Humana Healthy Horizons, plus Autism Speaks board chair Dr. Thomas Frazier, as it works toward recommendations due to the governor and Legislature by December 31. The panel was created to address rising costs and service continuity in applied behavior analysis therapy, which about 60,000 low-income Florida children receive at a cost of roughly $2.3 billion, more than the state spends on pediatric hospital care, doctor visits, or prescription drugs combined for far larger groups of children.

State economist Amy Baker told lawmakers cost growth for autism-related services is ‘softening,’ crediting a 2025 shift requiring ABA services to go through managed care plans instead of fee-for-service providers. Asked by state Sen. Gayle Harrell about Medicaid fraud in the ABA space, referencing the DeSantis administration's fraud crackdown prompted by CMS Director Mehmet Oz's public comments about Florida being a fraud ‘hotspot,’ Baker said her office had no information suggesting fraud adjustments were underway, calling the office ‘silent’ on the matter.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.