As state budget talks continue past the April 1 deadline and National Autism Acceptance Month begins, U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres is sounding the alarm over potential cuts to state Medicaid-funded autism services, arguing that the neediest children could miss out on life-changing care.
In a March 30 letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, he blasted the proposed $28.6 million in cuts to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services over two years, amid a $15 million increase in the overall budget.
The proposed cuts would reduce reimbursement rates for lower-level behavioral health staffers known as Registered Behavior Technicians from $70 per hour to $38 per hour — the lowest in the country — which Torres said would drive them out of the profession and shut down existing services.
“It would transform ABA therapy from a right to a privilege, reserved only for those who can afford it,” he said.
Local families who have children with autism are deeply concerned about the proposed cuts.
Timmia Solano lives in the Bronx with her four-year-old son Cory, who was diagnosed with autism when he was less than two years old. He did not talk, had trouble focusing and sitting still and had sensory challenges that made him engage in “stimming,” or repetitive, uncontrollable movements such as hand-flapping.
Cory attends an autism center in Westchester County and has made significant progress over the past two years, Solano told the Bronx Times. He goes there daily from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. for intensive instruction to improve his communication skills.
Cory now knows the alphabet, colors and numbers and can spell his name. Staff also taught him to use an electronic device that allows him to express full sentences to indicate when he’s hungry, has to use the restroom and other critical needs.
“It’s helped him tremendously,” said Solano.
Mavis Burton of Jamaica, Queens, who helps care for her three-year-old grandson, told the Bronx Times that Medicaid-funded ABA services literally help keep the child alive.
Her grandson cannot speak and is known to escape through any available door. His hand needs to be held constantly, or he will go running into the street, said Burton. “He’s a danger to himself and others.”
The boy’s day runs from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. as he attends Birch Family Services, a school for children with autism, a few hours of daycare plus a three-hour ABA program — and he’s still hyper at the end of the day, Burton said. He is undergoing occupational, speech and physical therapy, all covered by Medicaid.
All that work is helping her grandson make major improvements, said Burton. He is learning some sign language, can say a few words verbally and can point to words in books.
If services were cut, Burton said her daughter, a single mom, would likely have to leave her job, putting more strain on the family and local economy.
Both families say they cannot afford to pay out of pocket for the high-quality programs they’re currently using. Medicaid currently covers all their costs, but it only began covering these kinds of services in 2021 and implementation delays stalled families’ access until 2023. New York was the last state to roll out Medicaid funding for ABA services, Torres said.
Without these programs, he argued in the letter that many children with autism are more likely to end up “cycling through the revolving doors of the child welfare system, the juvenile justice system, and the criminal justice system,” at a tremendous social and economic cost to society.
“Simply put, ABA is not a cost but a cost-savings,” Torres said. “Defunding ABA, as you are proposing to do, will exact a hidden cost on the taxpayers of New York State.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
