Last Thursday, Governor Maura Healey signed MDSC's ABA Therapy Bill into law, officially named “An Act regarding Applied Behavioral Analysis for Down syndrome”. The MDSC has been working on this landmark piece of legislation for six years. The ABA Bill has been MDSC's number one statewide policy priority since 2019, and we can’t thank Governor Healey and House and Senate leaders enough for making it one of their top priorities in the final days of 2024. 

The new law once and for all requires private insurers and MassHealth to cover the cost of in-home ABA therapy for children with a single diagnosis of Down syndrome. (The majority of families seeking at-home ABA therapy for their child with a single diagnosis of Down syndrome are routinely denied coverage by their insurance health plan.) A significant amount of medical research has shown that ABA is an effective — often transformative — therapy for individuals with Down syndrome. Now, we are incredibly proud that, because of this bill's passage, our families who need these critical ABA Therapy services at home will have more access starting in January 2026 when this law takes effect.

We truly would not have achieved this incredible milestone without the help of our community! With the law taking effect a year from now, stay tuned as we keep the MDSC community posted about next steps. 

Please consider sending a HUGE thanks to all the leaders that lent their support and aided in getting this law passed!