Schmitt, Gillibrand Call on DoW to Provide Essential Autism Care for Military Families

U.S. SENATE - Today, U.S. Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on the Department of War to provide comprehensive applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries diagnosed with autism.

"Since 2021, military families have struggled to access critical care for their children with autism, and by removing ABA therapy as a basic medical benefit under TRICARE, DHA has put undue burdens on service families," said Senator Schmitt. "Implementing the NASEM recommendations will help better serve our military families and ensure they have options for care for their children with autism. I'm thankful for the Trump administration's efforts to ease burdens on families' of Americans with disabilities and this is the next step to continue that mission."

"It is unacceptable that military families are being denied essential care for their autistic children," said Senator Gillibrand. "By refusing to provide ABA therapy as a basic medical benefit, TRICARE is failing our service members and forcing overwhelmed families to navigate a frustrating bureaucratic maze just to secure limited life-changing care. The Defense Health Agency must dismantle these restrictive barriers immediately and permanently authorize full ABA therapy as a basic TRICARE benefit and adopt all of the NASEM recommendations to ensure autistic children of service members receive the full care they need."

This letter comes in response to recent NBC News reporting on a military family's fight to secure coverage for their young son's essential autism care. It also follows a newly completed independent analysis by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), requested by Senator Gillibrand, which evaluated the effectiveness of the Department of War's Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration (ACD) and submitted its findings and recommendations to Congress and the department.

Based on its analysis, NASEM made four core recommendations to ensure military families receive high-quality care. Specifically, NASEM called for an immediate end to redundant, mandatory testing and parenting stress assessments that place an unjustified administrative burden on families and providers. The report highlights the need to streamline the healthcare process by granting clinicians the flexibility to choose appropriate assessment tools and making care navigation services entirely optional. Finally, the recommendations insist that the Defense Health Agency (DHA) update its coverage policies to align with standard industry guidelines, which includes approving all standard billing codes for ABA services and allowing clinically necessary ABA therapy to be delivered in schools and community settings.

The senators conclude their letter by urging Department leaders to swiftly implement NASEM's recommendations, noting that it has been more than nine months since the changes were proposed. They write:

"We urge that the department take immediate action to adopt all these recommendations, especially the recommendation to make ABA a Basic benefit under the TRICARE program. In addition to the recommendations of NASEM, 12 years of a demonstration should be sufficient to determine the effectiveness of a medical treatment. […] Our military families, especially those with autistic children or children with other developmental disabilities, are entitled to receive the best possible care."

Senator Schmitt's push for these reforms reflects a growing consensus among advocates and medical professionals that the current TRICARE system is failing its most vulnerable dependents. By transforming autism care from a temporary demonstration into a basic benefit and cutting through unnecessary red tape, the DHA has a critical opportunity to honor its commitment to those who serve. Moving forward, Senator Schmitt will continue to monitor the DHA's response and advocate for the healthcare protections and peace of mind that military families rightfully deserve.

The full letter can be read HERE.

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