Autism Therapy Centers Targeted By Private Equity In U.S., Study Reveals

Key TakeawaysPrivate equity firms have started scooping up autism therapy centersMore than 500 autism therapy centers were acquired by private equity between 2018 and 2022States with higher rates of childhood autism were 24% more likely to have autism therapy centers owned by private equity.TUESDAY, Jan. 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Private equity firms are scooping up U.S. autism therapy centers at an unprecedented rate, a new study says.These financial firms acquired more than 500 autism therapy centers during the past decade, with nearly 80% purchased between 2018 and 2022, researchers reported Jan. 5 in JAMA Pediatrics.Recent increases in autism diagnoses in the United States likely have made these centers an attractive income opportunity for private equity, researchers said.The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has nearly tripled in the U.S., rising from 2.3 cases per 1,000 children in 2011 to 6.3 cases per 1,000 in 2022, researchers said in background notes. The greatest increases were among 5- to 8-year-olds.“The big takeaway is that there is yet another segment of health care that has emerged as potentially profitable to private equity investors, and it is very distinct from where we have traditionally known investors to go, so the potential for harm can be a lot more serious,” senior researcher Yashaswini Singh, a health economist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said in a news release.Autism therapy centers offer services like applied behavior analysis (ABA), in which positive reinforcement is used to help people improve skills like communication, socializing, self-care and motor abilities, according to Autism Speaks.The concern is that private equity ownership might force these centers to put dollars before patients, said Arianna Esposito, vice president of services and supports for Autism Speaks.“Private equity ownership can introduce pressure for rapid growth and margin expansion, which may shift organizations away from a service-first model toward one that prioritizes volume and revenue,” she said.Study leader Daniel Arnold, a senior research scientist at Brown University, agreed.“It's all about the financial incentives,” Arnold said in a news release.“I worry about the same types of revenue generating strategies seen in other private equity-backed settings,” he said. “I worry about children receiving more than the clinically appropriate amount of services and worsening disparities in terms of which children have access to services.”For the new study, researchers analyzed data from PitchBook, a company that tracks activity in global capital markets. They also evaluated public press releases and websites to track changes in ownership.The team identified 574 autism therapy centers that had been acquired by private equity firms as of 2024, spanning 42 states.Most of these centers were bought between 2018 and 2022, resulting from 147 separate deals, researchers said.California (97), Texas (81), Colorado (38), Illinois (36) and Florida (36) had the largest number of autism therapy centers, results showed.The top third of states with the highest rates of childhood autism were 24% more likely to have clinics owned by private equity, researchers said.The research team is now seeking federal funding to examine how private equity ownership might affect the quality of care at autism therapy centers, including changes in therapy intensity, medication use, diagnosis age and how long children remain in treatment.This future research could determine whether these investments are helping meet real needs or are simply trying to squeeze money from affected families, researchers said.“Private investors making a little bit of money while expanding access is not a bad thing, per se,” Singh said. “But we need to understand how much of a bad thing this is and how much of a good thing this is. This is a first step in that direction.”If it’s well-intentioned, private equity could actually help bring autism therapy to more kids in need, Esposito said.“There can be meaningful benefits when investment is aligned with clinical priorities,” she said.“Private equity capital can help expand service availability, reduce waitlists and build infrastructure that smaller providers often lack, such as training programs, technology platforms and compliance systems,” Esposito continued. “In many markets, demand for ABA services has outpaced provider capacity, and investment can help close that gap.”More informationAutism Speaks has more about applied behavior analysis.SOURCES: Brown University, news release, Jan. 5, 2026; JAMA Pediatrics, Jan. 5, 2026.What This Means For YouParents should check the ownership of an autism therapy center as part of their decision-making process..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Autism Therapy Centers Targeted By Private Equity In U.S., Study Reveals

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