Episode
Episode 31: The Billion-Dollar Jackpot- Is the "Autism Industrial Complex" Facing a Reckoning?
- Podcast
- Rad N Bad Podcast
- Published
- Mar 23, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4878
- Processing state
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Summary
In this hard-hitting episode of the Rad N Bad Podcast , Sean Yocum and Mike Carrero dissect the explosive Wall Street Journal investigation that has sent shockwaves through the ABA industry: "The Boom in Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing Jackpot." Sean and Mike pull back the curtain on a system they’ve long warned was "hollowing out." They tackle the "Gold Rush" in North Carolina and beyond, where private equity firms have allegedly traded clinical rigor for "capacity utilization" and "frozen marathons." From the $340,000-per-child billing scandals in Indiana to the "ghost supervision" of bloated caseloads, this is a "clinical autopsy" of a field at a breaking point. The duo doesn't stop at the headlines. They also analyze the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) 's defensive response, questioning whether proposed "policy guardrails" are a genuine fix or a silent admission of systemic failure. Key highlights include: The 40-Year-Old Ghost: Why a 1987 study is still being used to justify 40-hour work weeks for toddlers. EBITDA vs. Outcomes: How the "strip and flip" private equity model creates "RBT factories." The Documentation Crisis: Why 99% of billing in some states is being flagged as "improper." The Exit Strategy: Why Sean and Mike believe a quality ABA model should plan for its own ending from Day 1. It’s time to stop chasing ghosts and start building a model that empowers families instead of billing for seat time. Let’s get radical.