Federal audits of autism-service payments
Four HHS-OIG audits estimated at least $198.6 million in improper payments. Their service definitions and audited years differ.
Improper-payment estimates in four federal audits
US dollars, millions
Lower-limit estimates, different audited years. Maine includes rehabilitative and community support services beyond ABA. This is not a state ranking.
Colorado: $77.8 million or $285.2 million?
Both amounts can be traced to the same audit. The smaller one is its rounded improper-payment estimate. Add the $207,361,571 labelled potentially improper and the combined amount is about $285.2 million.
That last label matters. The auditors lacked enough documentation to decide whether those payments met the rules. Dropping the word 'potentially' would change the finding.
Why we kept Maine in a separate row
Maine's report covers rehabilitative and community support services, a broader group than ABA. We kept it in the table because it belongs to this federal audit series, and made the broader scope explicit.
The four reports also examine different years. Their combined estimate is not a national fraud total, and their amounts cannot tell you which state had the worst billing practices. They describe the payment populations the auditors examined.
What this data cannot tell you
- Improper payment is not a finding of fraud or proof that therapy never occurred.
- Improper figures are lower-limit estimates; potentially improper figures use a different statistical basis.
- The audits concern different claim years and exclude managed-care payments.
- Maine's service definition is broader than ABA. Do not describe the combined figure as an ABA-only national total.
How this report was built
We extracted the amounts from the four original reports and checked them against the saved PDF text. The $198.6 million headline adds the improper estimates, not the potentially improper column. Rows follow alphabetical order. Each one keeps the report number and claims period needed to check it.
Underlying research files were retrieved on October 12, 2026. The website release was checked against those saved source versions on October 13. Live source pages may change after that date.
Read the publication methodCite this report
Autism Stats. Federal audits of autism-service payments. Version 1.0, October 13, 2026. https://autismstats.com/statistics/medicaid-aba-audits
When quoting a figure, include the population and collection year. Link to the original source as well when your publication requires it.