North Carolina Medicaid Cuts & What It Means for Autism Services

A recent article from The Assembly NC highlights a serious funding battle for autism services in North Carolina — and what’s at stake for families relying on care from providers such as compleatKiDZ.

According to the report, state health officials cut reimbursement rates for many Medicaid-funded services on October 1, 2025 — including a 10% reduction for certain autism therapies (most notably Applied Behavior Analysis / ABA). As demand for autism diagnoses and services has surged, costs ballooned; ABA spending under Medicaid has more than quintupled since 2022.

The cuts posed a serious threat to care. As one family described, without Medicaid they wouldn’t have been able to afford life-changing therapy for their daughter. Provider organizations including compleatKiDZ warned they might have to eliminate staff, reduce therapy hours, scrap plans for new clinics, and extend wait lists for more than 1,000 children state-wide.

Fortunately, a recent court order has temporarily reversed the cuts for ABA therapy after families with autistic children filed a lawsuit arguing the rate cuts violated disability protections under state law. For now, clinics like compleatKiDZ serving thousands of children across North Carolina have been allowed to keep delivering critical services.

Still, the article notes, reductions of 3–10% remain for dozens of other Medicaid services — and the state’s Medicaid shortfall remains at $319 million. That uncertainty and strain on the system remain concerning, especially given rising demand for autism care and the narrow window of early childhood when therapy is most effective.

👉 Read the full story on The Assembly NC: “More Diagnoses, More Demand”