THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and the Health and Medicine Division
Board on Children, Youth, and Families and the Board on Health Care Services
Committee on an Independent Analysis of Department of Defense’s Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration Program
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Congressional Briefings
Thursday, September 4, 2025 – 3:00 p.m.
Monday, September 8, 2025 – 3:00 p.m.
and
Thursday, September 25, 2025 – 3:30 p.m.
via Zoom
On
The Comprehensive Autism Care Demonstration:
Solutions for Military Families
At the request of Congress in P.L. 117-81, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, and with additional direction in P.L. 117-263, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, this new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine examines how the Department of Defense's autism care demonstration program is serving families and whether ABA (applied behavior analysis) should be covered as a TRICARE Basic benefit. Drawing on a careful review of the scientific literature, the report finds that ABA meets the Department's own standards for reliable medical evidence and should be formally authorized as a TRICARE Basic benefit.
The report identifies key areas where current demonstration policies differ from clinical standards. These include restrictive rules around assessments, limited flexibility in treatment goals and settings, and administrative requirements that impose unnecessary burdens on both families and ABA providers.
These briefings were for members of Congress and congressional staff only. The report was publicly released on September 9, 2025 and can be found, in its entirety, on the Web site of the National Academies Press.