Foster children's autism therapy at risk as Georgia lawmakers step into funding fight
A fight over cuts to autism therapy for Georgia foster children is escalating at the state Capitol, with a Republican lawmaker and families now calling for the 30% reimbursement reduction to be reversed as advocates warn children could lose hard-earned progress.
State Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough, joined parents and providers Thursday to demand action over a reduction in reimbursement rates for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy that went into effect Sept. 1 through Amerigroup, which administers Medicaid coverage for children in Georgia's foster care system.
"As a parent of a child with autism, I know what ABA therapy means for a family and Georgia's foster children, which is why I stood at the Capitol to make clear that these cuts are indefensible," Strickland told Fox News Digital.
Strickland, who is running for state attorney general, also pledged to hold companies accountable if elected.
The political pushback comes after Fox News Digital first reported earlier this month that autism advocates feared the reduction could force providers to stop treating foster children as an unintended consequence of the Trump administration's Medicaid fraud crackdown.
Taylor Sanders of the Autism Families Alliance told Fox News Digital on Saturday that families and clinicians have increasingly begun speaking out since the cuts took effect, emphasizing that "time is crucial to these families."
"Every moment where their child is not receiving services, we're seeing a regression in possible communication, safety skills," Sanders said. "Maybe we're seeing an increase in some of those challenging behaviors."
Sanders previously warned that as many as 75% of clinics could close or stop serving foster children because of the cuts.
She described a family whose 3-year-old child had begun using words for the first time after receiving ABA therapy and whose mother now fears losing access to treatment.
"She was in absolute tears and so worried and frustrated," Sanders said, recalling their recent conversation.
The mother, Sanders explained, fears losing the consistent one-on-one therapy that she said helped the child begin communicating.
Sanders said the child had not received enough therapy to ensure those newly learned communication skills could be maintained across different settings.
"For these children and their families, time matters," Kelsey Bennett of the Autism Families Alliance told Fox News Digital. "Every day without critical care risks reversing hard-earned progress and limiting opportunities for continued development."
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Bennett added, "Reverse the cuts."
Advocates are calling not only for the cuts to be reconsidered, but also for families, clinicians and other stakeholders to be involved in reviewing the policy rather than relying on a blanket approach.
In a statement to FOX 5 Atlanta, Amerigroup said it rebalanced ABA reimbursement rates based on service complexity and clinical expertise, increasing rates for treatment planning and caregiver-engagement services while decreasing rates for some technician-delivered services. The company also said rates for licensed clinicians did not decrease and that medically necessary autism services remain covered.
In response, Sanders emphasized that the reductions affected technicians who provide much of the one-on-one care.
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"Just because we put something down on paper doesn't mean that it's gonna be clinically effective or that these children are gonna be able to access care because companies are now having to maybe close their doors to these individuals because they can't afford the rate cut," Sanders said.
Sanders reiterated her concerns about the potential long-term consequences for children whose therapy is interrupted.
"Progress lost is extremely hard to come back from, which is the biggest concern that we're facing here," Sanders said. "Reconsider before ripping the rug from families. Start to involve the clinicians, involve families before making major cuts."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Amerigroup and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for additional comment.
Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.