Applied Behavior Analysis Market Research in Counties of Martin, Orange and St. Lucie, Florida, USA

The Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) industry is rapidly changing. New opportunities in the form of increased insurance coverage mandates, enhanced technology, and private equity investment place ABA practices in a unique position to capture additional growth. Additionally, the increase in autism prevalence rates, efforts to combat fraud, and the ever-changing landscape of ABA compliance all impact practices across the United States and highlight the need for behavior analytic health services.

Executives and insiders in the space anticipate more children will need higher levels of care due to the coronavirus. Plus, they say telehealth is here to stay, consolidation is primed to pick up, and comprehensive services offerings are set to become the norm.

However, the incidence of autism among American children has soared from 1 in 150 in 2000 to 1 in 54 today, and 3.5 million children and adults now live with autism. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities are the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders in children and often coexist. A study done in 2019 estimates an adult ADHD prevalence of 0.96% - doubling from 0.43% a decade prior.

Meanwhile, the insurance coverage of autistic children has improved over the past four years, with 64% now covered (vs. 36% in 2016). The coverage is now available in all 50 states.

Now that ABA therapy coverage has been mandated across all 50 states, the level of claims reimbursement from payors to provider practices is increasing dramatically. With rising, reimbursement dollar volume naturally comes increased scrutiny, regulation, and compliance requirements. As a result, we see a rapid increase in regulations and overall compliance constraints, which will force these practices to show accountability across all aspects of their organizations.

A great example of this trend in action is a federal policy mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016 concerning Medicaid reimbursement based on Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), which requires ABA practices that receive Medicaid reimbursements to collect, store and report on key data points that prove service delivery, including the type of service, individual receiving service, individual providing service, date, geo-location, and start/end time. The Congressional Budget Office expects EVV to save the federal government $290 million over ten years by preventing Medicaid fraud. ABA organizations that are unable to comply with this new requirement will not be reimbursed, even if the services were legitimately provided.

Among all the above mentioned, the most significant factors continuing to shape autism services are the quality and training of clinicians, specifically Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA). Annually 5,000 new BCBAs enter the job market without undergoing a residency-type of program. It is incumbent on service providers to offer a level of training and supervision to ensure a high-level quality of services.

According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, the global market is likely to reach US$ 4,612.1M by 2026 owing to the rising incidence of autism spectrum disorder worldwide, at a moderate CAGR of 4.3% during the forecast period (2019-2026).

The number of children in the USA being diagnosed with autism by the time they turn 8 years old has a continuous increasing pattern. Nowadays, 1 in 45 children in the United States, aged 3-17, have autism. One in 54 children had a diagnosis of autism by age 8 in 2016, an increase from 2014 when it was one in 59 children.

Autism treatment providers have been hit especially hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, as many of their services are dependent upon in-person connections. But in 2021, the US industry bounced back; however, it did not look the same way it did pre-pandemic.

Along with these changes, the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) industry is also rapidly changing.

Recent developments in the world of ABA are as follows:

• Advances in data collection/sharing
• Advances in diagnostic methods bring early detection
• The addition of Applied Behavior Analysis into teaching curriculums
• The increasing factor of functional assessment
• The development of effective behavior intervention plans, etc.

Now that ABA therapy coverage has been mandated across all 50 states, the level of claims reimbursement from payors to provider practices is increasing dramatically. With rising, reimbursement dollar volume naturally comes increased scrutiny, regulation, and compliance requirements. As a result, we see a rapid increase in regulations and overall compliance constraints, which will force these practices to show accountability across all aspects of their organizations.