ABA Monthly Newsletter – April 2025

Summary of the Month

The month of April saw high-stakes policy battles over autism data privacy and new Medicaid work mandates, significant M&A activity in the ABA and behavioral-health sectors, and notable research and tech advances. Illinois blocked HHS from accessing its autism records. House Republicans advanced a budget blueprint imposing six-month eligibility redeterminations and “community engagement” requirements on Medicaid recipients. In deal news, NexPhase Capital acquired Behavior Frontiers, and ABA providers opened new clinics from Texas and Michigan to North Carolina, Ohio, and New Mexico. NIH and CMS launched a secure autism data-sharing platform, while BlinkLab secured funding for its smartphone-based screening trial and a five-site infant brain-imaging study. On the global front, Dubai earned the first “Certified Autism Destination” designation in the Eastern Hemisphere. Finally, in sobering news, UnitedHealth suspended its full-year 2025 outlook after reporting higher-than-expected medical costs. Below is a categorized recap of April’s top stories in ABA, autism care, and related behavioral health.

Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism-Focused News

New Center Openings & Diagnostic Clinics

Behavior Frontiers Opens Third Texas ABA Therapy Center
The company unveiled its newest San Antonio clinic—its second in the city and third in Texas—featuring individualized ABA therapy rooms, caregiver-training suites, and real-time progress tracking via its PrioraCare™ platform.
Source: PR Newswire
Behavior Frontiers Opens Fifth Michigan Center in Riverview
A 4,262 sq ft facility in Riverview now offers personalized early-intervention ABA, social-skills group spaces, and immersive play-based therapy rooms.
Source: PR Newswire
Behavioral Innovations Expands into Maryland
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Behavioral Innovations launched two new centers in the Baltimore–Washington corridor, each offering center-based ABA in classroom-style environments, integrated diagnostic services, and family collaboration areas.
Source: Access Newswire
Priorities ABA Opens New North Carolina Learning Center
Priorities ABA, provider of LEARN Behavioral, cut the ribbon on its 4,600 sq ft Cary Learning Center—its third location in North Carolina—featuring an indoor gross-motor area, teen room, play-based classrooms, diagnostic suites, and flexible hours with no waitlist. A public open house on April 3 included spring-themed, sensory-friendly activities and a Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting.
Source: Priorities ABA Press Release
New Story Schools Debuts Toledo, OH Location
New Story Schools opened a 15,000 sq ft facility on a 2-acre campus—complete with sensory gyms, life-skills rooms, and multiple therapy suites—to serve learners with autism and other special needs.
Source: PR Newswire
Proud Moments Opens Autism Center in Belen, NM
Proud Moments announced its first standalone clinic in Belen, providing ABA therapy, speech and occupational services, and social-skills programming in a community-focused setting.
Source: News-Bulletin

Investments and Acquisitions

NexPhase Capital Acquires Behavior Frontiers
Lower-middle-market PE firm NexPhase bought Behavior Frontiers from Lorient Capital. NexPhase previously sold Action Behavior Centers in 2022 to Charlesbank Capital Partners. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Source: Applied Behavior Analysis
Brellium Raises $16.7 M for Clinical Compliance Software
First Round Capital and Left Lane Capital led a Series A for Brellium, whose AI-enabled compliance and documentation platform serves ABA, behavioral health, SUD, and allied-health providers.
Source: Behavioral Health Business
BlinkLab Nets $7.7 M for Smartphone Autism Test Trial
Australian diagnostics startup BlinkLab raised nearly $8 million to fund a U.S. clinical trial of its eye-tracking, smartphone-based autism screening tool ahead of an FDA submission.
Source: The West

Regulatory and Policy

NIH & CMS Launch Secure Autism Data Platform
NIH and CMS announced a pilot to link Medicare and Medicaid claims with electronic health records and wearable data—aiming to uncover autism’s root causes within a privacy-compliant infrastructure.
Source: ZeroHedge / The Epoch Times
Illinois Blocks Federal Access to Autism Data
Governor Pritzker signed an executive order preventing HHS from accessing state-held autism records—citing privacy concerns around the NIH/CMS autism data-linkage plan.
Source: WTTW
House GOP Plan Imposes Medicaid Work Rules, Redeterminations
The Republican reconciliation blueprint avoids direct Medicaid funding cuts but mandates six-monthly eligibility redeterminations, “community engagement” (work or volunteer) requirements for able-bodied adults, new cost-sharing up to 5 % of income, and blocks federal funding for those with unclear immigration status—a package the CBO estimates would trim the deficit by $715 billion over ten years while leaving 8.6 million fewer Americans insured by 2034.
Source: The Economist
HHS Clarifies No New Autism “Registry” Will Be Created
After confusion over NIH Director statements, HHS confirmed the autism initiative will not establish a patient registry or track individuals, but will link existing research datasets.
Source: Drugs.com News
Indiana Panel to Weigh ABA Cost-Containment
A state-appointed working group will recommend by year-end how to curb Medicaid ABA spending—considering caps on hours, quality metrics, utilization limits, and provider enrollment changes.
Source: Indiana Capital Chronicle
TRICARE West Extends Specialty Care Waiver
The Defense Health Agency again waived preauthorization requirements for West-Region Tricare Prime beneficiaries through June 30, ensuring uninterrupted ABA and other specialty services amid contractor transition issues.
Source: Military.com
UnitedHealth Pulls 2025 Outlook After Medical-Cost Overruns
UnitedHealth Group suspended its full-year 2025 financial guidance after reporting higher-than-expected medical costs—driven largely by greater utilization among new Medicare Advantage members—which sent its share price down over 12 % and raised fresh questions about payor profitability.
Source: The Guardian

Research & Innovative Tech

BlinkLab’s Smartphone Autism Test Advances
Following promising pilot results, BlinkLab will test its non-invasive, video-based eye-tracking tool in a multinational FDA-validated clinical study to detect ASD markers as early as six months old.
Source: The West
Infant Brain Imaging Study Seeks Early ASD Biomarkers
The University of Minnesota’s Masonic Institute joined a five-site NIH-funded trial using MRI scans at 6, 12, and 24 months to identify neural connectivity patterns predictive of later autism diagnoses.
Source: Minnesota Daily

Other ABA & Autism Updates

Dubai Becomes First Certified Autism Destination
Awarded by IBCCES, Dubai’s city-wide initiative—from airport training to sensory guides—is the first to earn autism-friendly certification in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Source: Travel Daily Media
‘The Waiting Game’: Illinois Families Face Multi-Year Diagnostic Delays
A Chicago Reporter investigation highlights 9-month to 2-year waitlists for autism evaluations, forcing some parents to navigate complex Social Security pathways to secure assessments.
Source: The Chicago Reporter

Related Mental Health News

Investor interest in mainstream mental health platforms remained robust in April, even as debate intensified over Medicaid work mandates and potential drug-pricing tariffs. Digital mental-health provider Kindbridge Behavioral Health disclosed $5.4 million in recent SEC-filed funding for its teletherapy and addiction-support services, underscoring ongoing appetite for scalable virtual care. Teladoc Health deepened its in-network behavioral-health footprint by acquiring UpLift for $45 million, bringing comprehensive virtual therapy and psychiatry services to more than 100 million covered lives. Beacon Behavioral Partners accelerated its clinician-partnership strategy by purchasing five independent practices across New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Louisiana—further unifying private-practice expertise under a single operational platform. Alongside ARC Health and other private-equity–backed groups, these deals signal that capital continues to flow toward technology-enabled, measurement-based mental health solutions—even amid policy and reimbursement uncertainty.

For questions or feedback on this newsletter, please contact us at [email protected].

Best regards,

The Bixpli Team

ABA Monthly Newsletter – April 2025

Summary of the Month

Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism-Focused News

New Center Openings & Diagnostic Clinics

Investments and Acquisitions

Regulatory and Policy

Research & Innovative Tech

Other ABA & Autism Updates

Related Mental Health News

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