Amerigroup Cuts Georgia Foster Children's Autism Therapy Rates 30%
Georgia's Medicaid managed care contractor for foster children, Amerigroup, cut reimbursement rates for applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy by 30% starting September 1, while raising rates for parent-training services instead. Clinics say the cut, delivered via an August notice citing alignment across autism services, has already forced some providers to stop accepting new foster-child patients or drop existing ones, threatening access for a population with high rates of severe autism. State Rep. Lee Hawkins says industry surveys show 75% of affected clinics expect to reduce or stop serving foster children within three months, and over 90% expect to limit new patients. The Georgia Department of Community Health, which delegates foster-care Medicaid rate decisions to Amerigroup, says out-of-network providers must be secured when no in-network option exists, but families report no notification of that option.