Elemy, a $1.15 billion startup, promised families and healthcare providers quick access to autism care for kids. The current and former Elemy employees who spoke to Insider for this story requested anonymity because they feared retaliation from the company. ABA therapy, while somewhat controversial, is the most widely used treatment to teach kids with autism new skills and discourage challenging behaviors. At the direction of leadership, Elemy employees on the business-development team told those organizations to send their kids with autism, according to four former employees directly involved in forming referral relationships. Each ABA company performs its own expensive, time-consuming behavior assessments, and some insurers pay for only one assessment every six months, he said.

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