Alpaca Health matches families in Lincoln and nearby Lancaster County towns such as Waverly, Hickman, Bennet, and Malcolm with independent BCBAs for ABA therapy. We check your Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, Aetna, Cigna, TRICARE West, or Heritage Health benefits before you begin. In-home ABA therapy is available wherever a local provider serves your area, so tell us your address and we will check.
Clinically reviewed by
Samantha Ridout, M.Phil., BCBA, LBA-NYS· BACB certification #1-22-57709 · Last updated August 2026
Accepted insurance
Choose your Lincoln BCBA for your child
Patricia Nguyen, MBA, BCBA, LBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with five years of experience in the ABA field, and you are welcome to call her Patty. She is dedicated to providing quality care that helps children and their families thrive.
Book a consultationView profileABA therapy options for Lincoln families
In-daycare and in-school ABA: therapy at daycare or school where the facility and your plan allow it
Virtual ABA therapy: telehealth parent coaching and BCBA sessions, where your plan covers them
Autism evaluations: ADOS-2 diagnostic assessments where available, coverage verified first
Parent training: regular family guidance sessions with your child's BCBA, where your plan covers them
Which setting fits your family? Tell us your address during signup and we will say plainly whether in-home ABA therapy reaches it. Virtual ABA therapy depends on your plan: Nebraska Medicaid pays for parent coaching and some BCBA supervision by video, but day-to-day therapy must happen in person. Private plans set their own rules.
How ABA therapy works through Alpaca Health
Four simple steps from your first form to your first session. No waitlists, no phone tag, no guesswork.
1
Tell us about your child
Start with our short intake form. You share the basics: your child's age, your availability, your insurance, and any autism diagnosis you already have. That is all we need to understand where your family is starting from.
2
We verify your insurance
After you submit the form, we verify your insurance and follow up within one business day to confirm the details. No long waits, no phone tag.
3
Get matched with the right provider
We match you with a BCBA who has availability now. Prefer someone specific? Tell us, and we will try to make it work. Either way, the fit is built around your child's needs and your family's schedule.
4
Start ABA therapy
We introduce you directly to your provider, and they take it from there. Most families begin within a few weeks, with in-home ABA therapy or a telehealth session where your plan covers it.
We accept most insurance providers and handle verification, prior authorization, and paperwork.
Don't see your plan? Check all accepted insurances
Alpaca Health accepts the plans shown above and confirms your exact benefits before you commit. Lincoln families on Nebraska Medicaid reach ABA therapy through a Heritage Health plan, which runs separately from private insurance. The plans are Molina Healthcare of Nebraska, Nebraska Total Care, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Nebraska.
What Alpaca Health's data shows about ABA care across our network
Every number below comes from the sessions, claims, and prior authorizations that partner clinics ran on Alpaca Health between August 2024 and August 2026, across every state we serve. It describes families served by those clinics, not the US ABA market.
Families who owed nothing
69.5%
Share of families nationally whose settled claims carried no patient responsibility. Medicaid plans usually cover it by design, while commercial plans carry deductibles and copays.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 896 families across 77 clinics.
Median owed per hour of therapy, commercial plans
$2.71
Patient responsibility owed per delivered hour for families on commercial plans nationally. About four in ten owed nothing at all. Middle half of families: $0 to $12.18.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 448 families across 64 clinics.
Independent practices on Alpaca Health
95
Practices run by clinician owners across the country, together serving about 1,400 children with roughly 148,700 hours of therapy delivered in the window.
Alpaca Health platform records, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026.
Median days to a payer decision
16.4
Days from the moment a partner clinic submits a prior authorization to the moment the payer approves or denies it. Middle half of requests: 10 to 26 days.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 1,082 families across 81 clinics.
How prior authorizations ended nationally
- Approved69.3%
- Withdrawn before a decision13.8%
- No authorization was needed9.8%
Share of prior authorization requests by outcome. Outcome groups with too few families behind them are not shown, so these shares do not add to 100. 891 families across 78 clinics.
Where therapy hours were delivered
- At home64.9%
- In a clinic office13.3%
- By telehealth8.9%
- At school7.3%
- Other settings5.6%
Share of delivered therapy hours by the place of service billed on each signed session note. Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026.
Families who had at least one telehealth session
72.4%
Telehealth is a small share of total hours nationally, and most families used it at least once. It fills gaps around illness and travel rather than replacing in-person work.
Alpaca Health partner-clinic caseload, Aug 2024 to Aug 2026. 783 families across 70 clinics.
These figures describe clients of Alpaca Health partner ABA clinics, on the payers Alpaca Health contracts with. They are not measurements of the US ABA market. A figure appears only when at least 25 families from at least 3 clinics sit behind it.
Start ABA therapy nowGetting an autism diagnosis in Lincoln
Private insurance authorizes ABA therapy after a confirmed autism diagnosis. Nebraska Medicaid also covers ABA for a developmental or intellectual disability, and it requires a diagnostic interview, an ABA assessment, and a treatment plan before therapy starts. Which route fits depends on your child's age and the plan on your card, and Lincoln has a university clinic that tests children for autism on a sliding scale.
Start with Alpaca Health
We can check whether an Alpaca Health ADOS-2 evaluation is available for your child in Lincoln and what your plan needs. An ADOS-2 is one part of an autism diagnosis.
Start your evaluationUnder age 3
Nebraska's Early Development Network evaluates children from birth to three at no cost. Lincoln Public Schools takes referrals at 402-436-1920, and anyone can refer without a diagnosis.
Age 3 and up
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Counseling and School Psychology Clinic tests children for autism on a sliding scale: 402-472-1152. In Omaha, Children's Nebraska evaluates with a referral from your child's provider.
What Nebraska's autism insurance law requires
What covered plans must do
- Cover ABA: Plans issued or renewed since January 1, 2015 must cover screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism for anyone under 21, and the law names applied behavior analysis.
- No dollar caps: Autism benefits cannot carry dollar limits, deductibles, or copays that are worse than those for a physical illness.
- Limited reviews: Outside a hospital stay, an insurer can review the treatment plan no more than once every six months unless your child's doctor agrees to more.
Where the law stops
- 25 hours per week: Behavioral health treatment, including ABA, is capped at 25 hours per week until age 21. Speech, occupational, and physical therapy do not count toward that limit.
- Plans it does not reach: Self-funded employer plans under federal ERISA rules and ACA individual and small-group plans are outside the mandate, so ask how your plan is funded.
- School sessions: Since July 1, 2026, independent providers cannot bill Nebraska Medicaid for ABA at school, so that care runs through the school.
- Diagnosis first: Treatment must be prescribed by a licensed physician or licensed psychologist for a child diagnosed with autism.
Local programs and organizations that support families alongside ABA therapy.
Free 24/7 phone, text, and chat support for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call or text 988.
Birth-to-three early intervention for the Lincoln Public Schools district, where anyone can refer a child and evaluations cost families nothing.
Birth-to-three early intervention for Lancaster County homes outside the Lincoln Public Schools district, including Waverly, Hickman, Bennet, and Malcolm.
Nebraska's toll-free line for early intervention referrals from birth to three and special education questions for older children.
Public school district covering nearly all of Lincoln, which evaluates students for special education and served 851 students with autism in 2024-2025.
Public school district for Waverly, Walton, and nearby rural Lancaster County, plus a few homes inside Lincoln's city limits.
Public school district based in Firth that serves Hickman, Firth, Panama, and Roca, plus a few homes inside Lincoln's city limits.
Nebraska's 24-hour line for families worried about a child's behavior or mental health, with safety screening and referrals to local help.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln training clinic that evaluates children for autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities, with fees on a sliding scale.
Children's Nebraska evaluates children for autism with a multispecialty team after your child's provider sends the referral paperwork.
Nebraska's parent training and information center in Omaha gives families free help with special education, IEPs and finding services.
Why independent clinics matter
In-home ABA that fits your life
- The providers we work with bring therapy to you, wherever your child is most comfortable.
- That might mean home, daycare, school, or virtual sessions. Our flexible care model ensures that therapy integrates into your family’s daily routine, rather than disrupting it.
- Our network is made up of independent, local clinicians who prioritize collaboration, not control, so you stay in charge of your child’s care.
Support for the full pediatric age range
- Many ABA centers stop care when a child turns 8. BCBAs on Alpaca Health support the full pediatric age range, from toddlers until age 21, where coverage allows.
- Your child deserves more than short-term support. With Alpaca Health, they can build a long-term relationship with a provider who understands their growth over time and adapts care as their needs evolve.
- We also support your whole family with educational events and resources, including parent webinars, advocacy toolkits, and grant guides.
More care. Less wait.
- Waiting months for ABA therapy shouldn’t be the norm. Alpaca Health connects families with independent BCBAs who are taking new families, and most families begin within a few weeks.
- We work exclusively with independent providers, which allows us to stay flexible and waitlist-free. That means faster assessments, quicker treatment starts, and the end of years-long waits.
- Ready to get started? We’ll handle the paperwork, help coordinate referrals, and walk you through every step.
How much does ABA therapy cost in Lincoln, NE?
It depends on the plan printed on your card. State-regulated large-group plans must cover ABA under Nebraska's autism law, and Nebraska Medicaid covers it through Heritage Health. Marketplace and small-group plans are not required to cover it, and self-funded plans from private employers sit outside state law, which changes what ABA therapy costs for some families.
Alpaca Health checks your plan first. Check your Lincoln coverage.
Does Alpaca Health serve families in Lincoln?
Yes. Lincoln sits inside Alpaca Health's Nebraska service area, and a BCBA featured on this page is based in Lincoln. Families in nearby towns such as Waverly or Hickman can ask as well, since in-home visits depend on where a local provider works.
We confirm your coverage before anything is scheduled, and most families begin within a few weeks.
Can Lincoln Public Schools diagnose my child with autism?
No. A Lincoln Public Schools evaluation can qualify your child for an Individualized Education Program, which covers services at school. Private plans usually want a medical diagnosis before they authorize ABA therapy.
Once the district has your signed consent, Nebraska's special education rule gives it 45 school days to finish the evaluation. Lincoln Public Schools served 851 students with autism in 2024-2025.
Where do Lincoln families get an autism evaluation?
Under age 3, Lincoln Public Schools takes Early Development Network referrals at 402-436-1920, and no diagnosis is needed to start. Families outside the district can call Nebraska ChildFind at 1-888-806-6287.
From age 3, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Counseling and School Psychology Clinic tests children on a sliding scale and does not take insurance. Children's Nebraska in Omaha evaluates with a referral from your child's provider.
