Reimbursement in Utah: Update

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on ABA reimbursement rates in Utah's pilot Medicaid program:

To interest more therapists in treating children with autism in a new state pilot, Utah’s Medicaid program is planning to increase their pay.

It recently sought permission from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to boost what the reimbursement rate for tutors who will provide free applied behavior analysis therapy (ABA) to children with the social and communication disorder.
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After surveying the therapists about what rate was practical, Medicaid bumped it to $28.32, based on satisfying three out of five providers who responded to the survey. As of Tuesday, seven providers had sought Medicaid contracts.

Still, as before, a tutor could make as little as $14.42 an hour depending on what providers allot for insurance and training costs.

To stay within the $15 million pilot budget, children will receive 15 hours of therapy a week, said Medicaid spokeswoman Kolbi Young. It won’t reduce the number of children served, she added.

For young children, effective behavioral therapy requires at least 25 hours a week.