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Assemblymember Ta says bill will preserve access to authorized ABA services for autistic patients
Summary
AB 2233, introduced by Assemblymember Ta and heard by the Senate Health Committee, would prevent administrative scheduling and weekly‑cap rules from effectively reducing already‑authorized applied behavior analysis services; witnesses described families losing access despite authorization. The committee passed the bill as amended and referred it to Appropriations.
Assemblymember Ta introduced AB 2233 to the Senate Health Committee, saying the bill is aimed at ensuring "autistic patients can actually access the care that has been prescribed and approved for them." Ta told the committee they would accept amendments preserving health plans' ability to use utilization management as a safeguard against fraud while protecting families from losing authorized hours due to scheduling and administrative limits.
Board‑certified behavior analyst Jessica Roundtree described clinical examples in which children in acute behavioral crises could not use authorized hours because doing so would exceed utilization caps. "The authorized hours already existed, but I could not use those hours when they were needed because doing so would have exceeded a utilization cap," Roundtree told senators, adding that clinicians should not have to choose between helping a child and preserving billing limits.
Brianna Jimenez, a BCBA and instructor at Santiago Community College, cited industry data showing practices use about "42.6% of authorized hours on average" and described how weekly authorization models cause families to forfeit approved hours when sessions are missed for unavoidable reasons, such as caregiver work obligations or clinician vacations. "AB 2233 preserves flexibility across the full six‑month authorization period, protecting a patient's right to receive care already prescribed," Jimenez said.
Several organizational witnesses — including representatives of the California Behavioral Health Association and the California Psychological Association — and parents spoke in support. Cassidy Heckman of the California Association of Health Plans said the organization had "significant concerns" in print about fraud, waste and abuse but thanked the author and the committee for amendments that preserve utilization management and indicated the association planned to remove its opposition after reviewing the changes.
Following committee discussion and bipartisan remarks from Vice Chair Valladares praising the bill and offering to co‑author, Senator Caballero moved the measure. The assistant called the roll and the committee voted 7–0 to pass AB 2233 as amended and re‑refer it to the Committee on Appropriations.
The committee placed AB 2233 on call for final processing and moved to the next agenda item.
