Lani Fritts – Mergers, Acquisitions and Private Investors and the Impact on Clinical Services and the Mission

About the presentation:The field of Behavior Analysis has gone through monumental changes over the past decade, substantially resulting from the continued rise in diagnostic rates and by the expansion of services funding options for families of individuals on the Autism Spectrum, which as of this year, now includes mandated commercial health insurance coverage in all 50 states.  These dynamics have substantially increased demand for services, driving expansion in BCBA programs educating new behavior analysts, an explosion in the number of new certificants, and a substantial increase in the numbers and size of for profit and not-for-profit organizations attempting to serve this rapidly growing demand.  These market factors have also substantially increased mergers and acquisitions and the interest of traditional healthcare services investors in the field, which has resulted in substantial private equity capital flowing into the companies serving the ASD community.

This presentation will explore the supply and demand dynamics driving this interest in the field, the implications of investment capital flowing into the field, and the pitfalls and the opportunities these dynamics represent for families, clinicians, and organizations.