STAT+: Federal Medicaid audit finds massive overpayment for autism therapy in Colorado

STAT News · Mar 2, 2026 · Collected from RSS

Full Article

By Tara BannowMarch 2, 2026 Hospitals and Insurance Reporter Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers, and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70.For the fourth time, federal auditors have turned up improper or potentially improper Medicaid payments in every sample of autism therapy records they audited. This report, focused on Colorado, yielded the highest improper payment amount yet. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General uncovered $285.2 million in improper and potentially improper payments in 2022 and 2023 to clinicians who provide a popular form of autism therapy called applied behavior analysis, or ABA. The payments, administered under Colorado’s Medicaid program, come from the state and federal governments. HHS OIG announced in 2022 it would conduct reviews of Medicaid payments to ABA providers in seven states. The first was Indiana, then Wisconsin, and Maine. ABA is a commonly used therapy for managing autism symptoms, but a 2022 STAT investigation found that a rapid influx of private equity investment in the industry has contributed to a crisis of providers routinely overbilling insurers while providing substandard treatment to vulnerable children and families. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus daily intelligence on Capitol Hill and the life sciences industry — by subscribing to STAT+. Already have an account? Log in View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe