OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Telehealth may no longer be an option for some Nebraska residents starting May 11.
The Federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say telehealth won't be available for applied behavior analysis. That could impact thousands of children with autism getting those services.
Officials from Nebraska Behavior Supports say they’re most concerned about rural communities and western Nebraska. The agency offers telehealth services, but needs a board-certified behavior analyst to do that.
“You have to have the BCBA to run the program, and there are actually less than 200 BCBAs throughout the entire state of Nebraska; meaning that there's just a huge disparity regarding how many providers are available for this service, versus how many students in Nebraska who could benefit from this,” said Colleen Heiser, director of operations for Nebraska Behavior Supports.
She says there is precedent in other states of permanent policies for telehealth codes and she hopes Nebraska follows suit.
In 2021, Nebraska schools reported having more than 4,700 enrolled children with autism.
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