Autism treatment plan approval backlog in Minnesota leaves families in limbo

Minnesota's fraud crisis is having unexpected consequences for families who have children with autism. 

Loni Yego says she first dropped her 3-year-old son, Raymond, off at Minnesota Behavioral Specialists last year. It's where he gets speech and occupational therapy after he was diagnosed with autism. Yego says she doesn't know how much longer she can send him here. WCCO asked her how anxious it makes her that his plan may not be approved or that it's on a backlog.

"I don't want to talk about it. Anxiety is high," Yego said.

Providers say hundreds of others are in a similar spot because there's a severe backlog on autism treatment plan approvals in Minnesota.

"It's just another layer added to the continued challenges of these kids," Camille Heyman said.

Heyman and Paige Berland co-own Minnesota Behavioral Specialists. They say Raymond's plan is one of 11 that isn't approved yet at the state level, meaning their center isn't getting reimbursed by Medicaid to look after them. They're now taking extreme measures.

"Taking out personal loans, cashing out 401ks at a personal level from us," Berland said. "We're not going to abandon them. They need these services."

The Minnesota Department of Health says this is related to the total overhaul of this system going back to their attempted crackdown on fraud. It's also pointing a finger at Acentra, the third-party contractor responsible for these plan approvals.

A Minnesota Department of Human Services spokesperson says Acentra is required to approve plans in five business days, but Berland and Heyman say they're still waiting on plans submitted in June.

State officials say they are now overseeing corrective action.

An Acentra spokesperson tells us their team is "working closely with our state partners to manage demand and expand capacity."

The company blames the backlog on spikes in autism treatment referrals.

In any case, Yego is left to wonder about her son's future here.

"How many times are we going to talk about not getting funding? 

The health department says it's considering terminating its contract with Acentra if the problem isn't fixed.