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News for rocket scientists. Alliance Health and Cortica partner to ensure access to quality, cost-effective care for children with autism and other developmental differences. MORRISVILLE, N.C., Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Alliance Health, a North Carolina Tailored Plan has partnered with Cortica, a physician-led autism services provider, to expand access to advanced neurological therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental differences in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. Alliance and Cortica are working together on an integrated whole-person approach to treating ASD that aims to improve the quality of care, reduce sole reliance on Applied Behavior Analysis, and impact unsustainable costs of care that have skyrocketed over the past two years. This collaboration is aligned with both the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Behavioral Health Quality Pledge and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' newly released State ABA Toolkit, which call for individualized, physician-led, whole-person care and accountability for quality, outcomes, and responsible stewardship of Medicaid resources. Increasing access to integrated whole-person care for its health plan members has been an ongoing priority for Alliance, according to its Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer Sean Schreiber. "We are very excited about this new collaboration with Cortica. At a time when ABA is under increased scrutiny, the partnership helps ensure access, in a cost-conscious manner, to effective care for ASD." "Alliance is committed to this type of innovative approach to services, and is not solely reliant on fraud, waste and abuse prevention to address spending concerns," said Rob Robinson, Alliance CEO. "We are pleased to be the first North Carolina Medicaid Managed Care plan to contract with Cortica, enabling our members to access their unique care model." Cortica applies a compassionate multidisciplinary autism care plan that replaces the fragmented, transactional ASD services landscape by unifying care journeys that span four areas (medical, ABA, developmental therapy, and family support) and integrating rich data sets to systematically track clinical progress across disciplines. North Carolina State Senator Jim Burgin, Co-Chair of the Senate Health Care Committee and a long-time advocate for improving autism care, welcomed the partnership. "Families deserve timely access to high-quality autism care that is coordinated around the needs of the child, not fragmented across disconnected providers. This partnership reflects North Carolina's commitment to whole-person, evidence-based care that measures outcomes, improves the experience for families, and responsibly stewards taxpayer dollars." "Our new relationship with Alliance to serve their Medicaid Tailored Plan members further solidifies our commitment to serve all North Carolina children with neurodevelopmental differences and advances health equity and access to care," said Neil Hattangadi, MD, co-founder and CEO of Cortica. "I commend their leadership for seeing the future of autism care, rewarding outcomes over volume, and doing what's right for their members." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 31 children is diagnosed with autism in the U.S.[1] Wait times for a diagnosis can take longer than six months in academic medical centers. With a national network of pediatric neurologists and other physicians paired with a digital front door model, Cortica can provide an autism diagnosis within 30 days and accelerate the time from diagnosis to implementation of comprehensive interventions. The new approach to care between Alliance and Cortica reflects the major shifts happening in the treatment landscape for autism and is consistent with both organizations' focus on innovative services for the well-being of the members and families whom they serve. Members interested in more information should call Alliance Member and Recipient Services at 800-510-9132 Monday-Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. About Alliance Health: Alliance Health is a public managed care organization serving Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina. Working with a network of more than 4,000 private providers, Alliance has responsibility for 464,000 Medicaid-eligible and uninsured individuals among a population of over 3.5 million. The Alliance Medicaid Tailored Plan manages all the health care needs - physical, behavioral and pharmacy - for people with complex mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and long-term care needs including intellectual/developmental disability and traumatic brain injury. About Cortica: Cortica offers physician-led, whole-child care for children (17 and under) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Services include diagnostic evaluation and integrated medical, behavioral (ABA), developmental care (speech, feeding, and occupational therapies), and counseling. Care is delivered in-center, virtually, or at home. Families are supported for co-occurring conditions like seizures, sleep issues, GI symptoms, sensory processing, ADHD, and medication management. Cortica serves patients in the communities surrounding its Cary and Charlotte clinics. Cortica's model was derived from the research and clinical practices of its leadership from major academic medical centers. www.corticacare.com. SOURCE Alliance Health

Kyle Gravel named Vice President of autism services at RCPA member Devereux. Apr 8, 2026 Villanova, PA - April 8, 2026 - Devereux, one of the nation's largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare, today announced that Kyle Gravel, M.S., LMFT, BCBA, CCATP-CA, ASDCS, has been selected for the newly created position of vice president of autism services, effective immediately. As a member of Devereux's executive leadership team, Gravel will oversee strategies, innovations and expansion efforts of the organization's new national autism services division. Specifically, he will lead the development and execution of a national autism expansion strategy, assess existing service offerings, identify areas for strategic growth, and drive a growth-based business plan focused on service innovation. Gravel also will ensure alignment and consistency across all Devereux autism programs, while promoting evidence-based practices and high standards of compassionate care. "Kyle is a strategic and visionary leader, and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team," said Devereux Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rhea Fernandes, Psy.D. "His expertise will be instrumental as we grow our national autism services division, expanding our reach and deepening our impact across the country. Kyle will be responsible for strengthening and elevating our services so we can continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the individuals and families we are privileged to serve." About Kyle Gravel, M.S., LMFT, BCBA, CCATP-CA, ASDCS Kyle Gravel, M.S., LMFT, BCBA, CCATP-CA, ASDCS, holds more than 20 years of experience driving scalable performance, data integration and multidisciplinary collaboration across national healthcare and behavioral health organizations. Prior to joining Devereux, Gravel spent eight years at Cortica in San Diego, most recently serving as vice president/head of regional operations. His previous roles at Cortica included area director of operations; regional director of cognitive and behavior therapies; director of cognitive and behavior therapies; and associate director of cognitive and behavior therapies. Before this, Gravel spent 10 years at Behavioral Support Partnership in Garden Grove, California, most recently in the role of director of parent training services. Gravel earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in clinical psychology from California State University, Fullerton. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist; Board Certified Behavior Analyst; certified child and adolescent anxiety treatment professional; certified autism spectrum disorder clinical specialist; and is pivotal response treatment certified, level 2. About Devereux Devereux is one of the nation's largest nonprofit organizations, providing services, insight and leadership in the evolving field of behavioral healthcare. Founded in 1912, Devereux operates a comprehensive national network of clinical, therapeutic, educational and employment programs that positively impact the lives of more than 10,000 children, adults - and their families - every year. The organization's unique approach combines evidence-based interventions with compassionate family engagement. With nearly 6,500 employees working in programs across the country, Devereux is a trusted partner for families, schools and communities, serving many of its country's populations in the areas of autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities, specialty mental health, education and foster care. For more than a century, Devereux has been guided by a simple and enduring mission: To change lives by unlocking and nurturing human potential for people living with emotional, behavioral and cognitive differences. Learn more: www.devereux.org.

For example, it served as the lead investor in Array's $25 million investment in 2023, Cortica's $40 million Series D extension round and SpectrumAi's $20 million Series A round.