Short report: Disparities in hours of applied behavior analysis services for Medicaid-enrolled autistic youth.

The study counted only ABA hours actually received, not whether hours were cancelled, not scheduled, or not approved in the service plan. It had no information on each child's level of need, so differences in hours cannot be separated from need. The sample came from one region in a single midwestern state and only Medicaid-enrolled children, so it may not apply elsewhere. Very few children were Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native, or multiracial, and these groups were unevenly distributed across agencies, limiting conclusions about racial/ethnic disparities. The study looked at children already receiving ABA, so it could not detect disparities in autism identification or enrollment in the Medicaid Autism Benefit. Only one agency represented a large metropolitan area, so the analysis could not examine disparities within metropolitan areas. No autistic people were involved in the analysis.

The authors reported no financial support for the research and no potential conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that racial/ethnic disparities in autism services are absent. This study counted only ABA hours received by children already enrolled and billed, and it could not assess identification, enrollment, other services, or service plans.