Nevada pauses proposal to allow ABA providers to address ADLs and IADLs

In response to months of advocacy from the Nevada Occupational Therapy Association (NOTA) and AOTA, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services paused proposed changes to the state’s Medicaid Services Manual that would have added addressing ADLs/IADLs to the applied behavior analysis coverage policy, allowing licensed behavior analysts (LBAs) to bill for such services.

NOTA leaders and AOTA State Affairs staff joined multiple public workshops hosted by Nevada’s Medicaid agency to express concerns that the LBA practice act law in Nevada and educational standards do not authorize LBAs to address ADLs and IADLs. Further, if Medicaid were to allow this, it could potentially disrupt the ability of OT practitioners (OTPs) to provide and be reimbursed by Medicaid for providing medically necessary OT services related to ADL/IADLs due to perceived duplication of services.

“We learned from this experience that when we lean on our partners – the national association, other state therapy association members, and community partners – we are able to move the needle on important issues,” said NOTA Advocacy Chair Matt Olivier, MS, OTR/L.

AOTA and NOTA executed a grassroots communication effort to get members in each association to attend the public workshops and have their voices heard. Thanks to everyone’s efforts Medicaid heard both associations’ concerns and does not plan to move the proposal forward, according to an email recently sent to NOTA.

Advocacy collaborations such as this elevate the voice of the occupational therapy profession by publicly highlighting the services OTPs provide to their clients every day and ensure that OT services remain an integral part of the spectrum of health care services available in Nevada.