ABA Centers of America appears to have rolled out a round of layoffs.
Several posts on social media from employees with varied roles at the company said their roles were eliminated over the last few days as part of a restructuring, potentially prompted by budget cuts. The company declined to offer specific details about the layoff.
“We continue to operate business as usual and remain focused on providing rapid access to high-quality autism care for the families we serve,” a spokesperson for ABA Centers of America told Behavioral Health Business. “As part of the normal course of business, we regularly evaluate our organizational needs and make adjustments as necessary. Our growth, client demand, and operations remain on track and consistent with our expectations.”
Sources close to the matter say that Optum will no longer engage with ABA Centers of America. This aligns with previous reporting by other media. This, in turn, translates to a loss of revenue that requires adjustment by the company. ABA Centers of America declined to answer specific questions about the matter.
The workforce reduction comes as the company touts its rapid growth, fueled by an atypical approach to payer relations. In March, the company said its revenue grew 586% over a three-year period ending in 2024. This placed the company at No. 15 on Inc.’s 2026 Regionals: Southeast list of fast-growing companies. Last year, it ranked at No. 25 overall on the national Inc. 5000 list.
In 2023, the company’s founder and then-CEO Christopher Barnett told BHB that he intended to massively expand the company without taking on outside investments, with the exception of his own and from others who are involved with ABA Centers of America’s parent company, ICBD Holdings. At the time, he said he would do so by remaining out of network with payers to command higher reimbursement that would, in turn, enable higher staff wages and accelerate expansion. Coupled with significant work identifying areas with provider shortages, ABA Centers of America used this strategy to achieve financial success.
This model, however, is aberrant within the autism therapy space, where nearly all billing is done in-network and out-of-network, or single-care agreement billing usually acts as a bridge to in-network coverage.
Jason Barker stepped into the CEO role at the end of 2024.
Some payers have not taken kindly to the model or how ABA Centers of America has executed it. What’s more, two major players contend in court that ABA Centers of America and their local entities have abused the system and defrauded them.
In December 2024, the company sued the payer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, alleging improper withholding of reimbursement. In October 2025, it answered with a counterclaim seeking $19 million and alleging that ABA Centers of America charged it, at times, “2,015% above standard, in-network rate” and subjected the health plan to “false claims, fabricated documentation, and deceptive business practices.”
In August 2025, ABA Centers of America and the grocery store giant Publix sued each other over a comparable fight. Publix claimed that ABA Centers of America filed “inflated claims, as well as claims that were improperly coded and failed to satisfy plan requirements,” and also charged exorbitant fees.