Every child deserves the chance to thrive

Behavioral health services are not a luxury — they are a lifeline. Medicaid is often the only pathway to care for hundreds of thousands of Arizona families. That access is under threat.

Protect these services What's at stake
1 in 36
U.S. children diagnosed
with autism
50%+
Rely on Medicaid as
primary insurance
$60K+
Annual therapy cost
without coverage
Millions
Families facing barriers
to care
The Crisis

A gap between diagnosis and care

Receiving an autism diagnosis is the beginning of a journey — but for too many Arizona families, it's also the beginning of a fight. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is considered the gold standard for autism treatment, credited with helping nonverbal children learn to speak and develop essential life skills. It works. Families know it works. The evidence is overwhelming.

Yet right now in Arizona, Medicaid insurers are terminating contracts with ABA providers — cutting off nearly 1,000 children from the therapists they depend on. Families rallied at the State Capitol, pleading for help. Medicaid is legally required to cover medically necessary services for children, but bureaucratic barriers, provider shortages, and insurance decisions are leaving children without care during the most critical years of their development.

Early behavioral therapy doesn't just help a child today — it shapes the entire arc of their life.
— Child Development Research, American Academy of Pediatrics
What's at Stake

When funding is cut, children pay the price

Behavioral health services are not peripheral to autism care — they are central to it. When denied or defunded, the consequences are immediate and lasting.

Developmental setbacks

Children who don't receive timely behavioral intervention miss critical windows for developing communication, emotional regulation, and adaptive skills. These gaps are difficult — sometimes impossible — to fully close later in life.

Families in crisis

Without covered services, families face impossible choices: take on crushing debt, reduce working hours to provide care themselves, or go without. Parents frequently leave the workforce entirely, deepening economic hardship.

School struggles intensify

Autistic children without behavioral support are more likely to face disciplinary actions, struggle with inclusion, and require more intensive school-based services. Early investment prevents far greater expense later.

Long-term costs rise

Every dollar invested in early autism therapy reduces lifetime care costs by multiple times. Cutting services today doesn't save money — it shifts enormous costs to future systems, families, and communities.

See Their World

The faces behind the numbers

Watch the story
Voices from Arizona Families

They are not statistics. They are our children.

"That is a 24/7 panic attack. That's what it looks like if this goes away. A 24-hour day, seven days a week. No vacations. No downtime. Panic attack."

Arizona Parent

"Parents, including myself, are struggling with putting our kids in another center like they want us to. You're traumatizing these kids. As a parent, it breaks my heart. I lose sleep."

Arizona Parent

"I called 20, 30 different new centers. For children with autism, consistency in therapy is part of the treatment. We don't know what we'll do. I don't wish this on anyone."

Arizona Parent

Quotes from Arizona news broadcasts covering the Mercy Care ABA therapy coverage crisis.

What Medicaid Covers

Proven services that transform lives

Under EPSDT, Medicaid must cover all medically necessary services for children under 21. For autistic children, this includes:

Applied Behavior Analysis
Evidence-based therapy that builds communication, social, and adaptive skills while reducing harmful behaviors
Speech-Language Therapy
Helps children develop verbal and non-verbal communication, including assistive technology for non-speaking children
Occupational Therapy
Supports sensory processing, fine motor skills, and the daily living activities essential for school and home
Mental Health Counseling
Addresses anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation challenges that co-occur frequently with autism
Case Management
Helps families navigate complex service systems, connect with providers, and ensure care continuity
Family Support & Training
Equips parents and caregivers with strategies to support their child's development throughout the day
Urgent — Action Needed

These cuts are not hypothetical.
They are happening now.

~1,000
Arizona children losing ABA therapy access after Mercy Care dropped provider contracts

In Arizona, Medicaid insurers Mercy Care, UnitedHealthcare, and Arizona Complete Health have already terminated contracts with major ABA providers — Action Behavior Centers and Century Health — leaving hundreds of families scrambling.

  1. Children are being ripped from their therapists. Families are told to "find a new provider" — but waitlists at remaining centers are months long. For autistic children, disrupting a therapeutic relationship causes regression, not just inconvenience.
  2. The "network" is a fiction. Mercy Care points to 70+ ABA providers statewide. Families who've called 20 or 30 of them report no openings. Access on paper is not access in practice.
  3. The cost of care is being shifted to families. Parents now face a choice: find an in-network provider that doesn't exist, pay $4,000+ per month out of pocket, or watch their child go without the therapy that taught them to speak.
  4. Federal funding cuts will make it worse. Block grants and per-capita caps being proposed in Congress would freeze Medicaid funding while costs rise — forcing Arizona to cut even deeper into the services these children depend on.
As one Arizona parent said at the Capitol: “This is the face of the dreams you will crush.” The window to act is closing.
Take Action

Demand they reinstate the contracts

Mercy Care, UnitedHealthcare, and Arizona Complete Health terminated ABA provider contracts — they can reverse that decision. Public pressure works. Here's how to fight back — today.

Contact the insurers directly

Call Mercy Care, UnitedHealthcare, and Arizona Complete Health. Tell them to reinstate contracts with ABA providers immediately. Demand they restore access to the therapists these children depend on.

Call Mercy Care: (602) 263-3000 UnitedHealthcare: 1-800-293-3740 AZ Complete Health: 1-888-788-4408
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Amplify their voices

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A child's future should never depend on a budget line.

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