Alpaca Health matches Reno families with independent BCBAs for ABA therapy. We verify Hometown Health, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, TRICARE West, or Nevada Medicaid benefits for families across Washoe County, including Sparks, Sun Valley, Spanish Springs, and Cold Springs. 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
Nevada BCBAs on Alpaca Health
ABA therapy options for Reno 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 and plan and we will say plainly what is available. In-home ABA therapy depends on a provider serving your address, and Alpaca Health's Nevada in-home care runs in the Las Vegas area today. Virtual ABA therapy depends on your plan, so we check yours first.
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. For Reno families, Nevada Medicaid runs through a Medicaid health plan or fee-for-service, separately from the private path. Hometown Health HMO plans use a network of providers in five northern Nevada counties.
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 Reno
Private insurance authorizes ABA therapy after a confirmed autism diagnosis, and your child's age and plan decide the route. Nevada Medicaid also covers ABA for other conditions where it is medically necessary, and an autism diagnosis for Medicaid goes on form FA-11F. State early intervention data show children in the northwest region waited 5.7 months on average from autism screening to diagnosis in fiscal 2025, so book early.
Start with Alpaca Health
We can check whether an Alpaca Health ADOS-2 evaluation is available for your family in Reno and what your plan needs. An ADOS-2 is one part of an autism diagnosis.
Start your evaluationUnder age 3
Nevada's early intervention system serves children from birth to three at no cost, and anyone can refer, including a parent. Reno families call the Northern Nevada line, 775-531-4043.
Age 3 and up
UCAN at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine evaluates children at no cost, by referral from a doctor, therapist, or school. Call 775-682-7025, and expect a waitlist.
How Nevada's autism coverage law works
What covered plans must do
- Cover ABA: Group plans must cover screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism, including applied behavior analysis, for children under 18, or until 22 if still enrolled in high school.
- No visit limits: Insurers cannot cap the number of visits, and cost sharing for autism care cannot be higher than for other outpatient care.
- Accept the diagnosis: Insurers must accept an autism diagnosis made under Nevada's statewide standard by a provider working within their scope of practice.
Where the law stops
- $72,000 per year: ABA coverage is capped at the actuarial equivalent of $72,000 per year, and insurers may apply the same copays and deductibles as for other medical care.
- Individual plans: Plans you buy yourself only have to offer autism coverage as an option, so check what your plan includes.
- Self-funded plans: Employer plans under federal ERISA rules are exempt from the state mandate, so ask how yours is funded.
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.
State early intervention for children under three in northern Nevada, at no cost, and anyone can refer, including a parent.
Public school district for Reno and Washoe County, whose Child Find team evaluates children ages 3 to 5 at 775-327-0685.
Nevada Division of Child and Family Services crisis team for youth under 18 and their families, with a hotline answered 24/7.
The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine team evaluates children and teens for autism at no cost, by referral, with a waitlist.
Nevada program that helps pay for autism treatment for children under 20 with a diagnosis, after insurance and other coverage.
Most Nevada Medicaid and Check Up members get care through a health plan, depending on where they live and their eligibility.
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 Reno?
It depends on the plan printed on your card. Nevada's autism law reaches state-regulated plans. Self-funded employer plans, including some that Hometown Health runs, follow their own plan documents, so what ABA therapy costs varies by employer.
For children under 20 with an autism diagnosis, the state's Autism Treatment Assistance Program can help pay after insurance, though intake can take months. Alpaca Health verifies your benefits first.
Does Alpaca Health serve families in Reno?
It depends on your address and plan. In-home ABA therapy is available wherever a local provider serves your area, and Alpaca Health's Nevada in-home care runs in the Las Vegas area today, more than 400 miles from Reno by road. Telehealth depends on your plan, so we check what yours covers before you start.
Tell us your address and plan, and we will say plainly what is available.
Can Washoe County School District diagnose my child with autism?
The district can find your child eligible for special education. That is a separate decision from a medical autism diagnosis, which insurers usually need before they authorize ABA therapy. Eligibility leads to an Individualized Education Program at school.
For children ages 3 to 5, Washoe County School District's Child Find team takes evaluation requests at 775-327-0685. Ask your pediatrician about a clinical evaluation as well.
Where do Reno families get an autism evaluation?
Under age 3, call the Northern Nevada early intervention referral line at 775-531-4043. Anyone can refer, including a parent, and services come at no cost.
From age 3, UCAN at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine evaluates children and teens at no cost with a referral, and it keeps a waitlist. Alpaca Health can also check whether its ADOS-2 evaluation is available to your family.
