Nebraskans on Medicaid recently faced a rate cut for the autism services including applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy. On top of that, the state lacks access to the clinics that provide these services, especially areas outside of the state’s largest cities. The new rates decrease ABA services by as much as 48%.

One mother of a son with autism said the cut is devastating for families like hers. “As parents who are coming into this with a new autism diagnosis, there's not going to be services available. That's really scary,” Taisa Brumagen previously told Nebraska Public Media News. “We're just going to be left to figure it out on our own. I did that for six years before my son's diagnosis, and it's a very alone place to feel as a parent.”

That’s why one clinic is opening a location that can serve rural areas on the outskirts of Omaha as well as accept current Medicaid rates. Lacey Smithers, the clinical director at Accel Therapies, is leading the team in opening a new location in West Omaha on Wednesday.

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