Military Families Fight TRICARE Autism Therapy Cuts

Logan Cabiao, a 10-year-old with severe autism, requires constant support, but his family faces significant hurdles accessing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy through TRICARE. In 2021, TRICARE, the military's healthcare program, introduced stricter requirements and limits on ABA coverage, including stopping coverage for many school-based services. This has led to Logan losing access to hands-on sessions for vital daily skills, which his mother describes as "babysitting" by the agency.

These changes impact many military families who rely on ABA for their children's development. Alycia Halladay from the Autism Science Foundation explains that ABA therapy breaks down skills into manageable steps with reinforcement, a crucial learning method. While most states mandate private insurers cover ABA, federal programs like TRICARE are not subject to these mandates, despite a 2021 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine affirming ABA's effectiveness and recommending its inclusion as a basic benefit.

Advocates, including Kristi Cabiao, who founded Mission Alpha, have lobbied Congress to restore full ABA coverage. Leading organizations signed a letter urging TRICARE to implement the 2021 report's recommendations, but TRICARE has not complied. Families feel betrayed, as they believe their children are receiving less care than others, jeopardizing their progress toward independence.