If your child gets ABA through Florida Medicaid, you may have heard that the state is "looking at cutting ABA." The reality is more specific. In 2026 the Legislature created a task force to review Medicaid's ABA program and recommend changes. It is meeting now, and its report is due at the end of the year. This explainer covers what the task force is, who is on it, what it has discussed, and what its report can and cannot do, based on the law that created it and the task force's own minutes.
What is the ABA Task Force, and who created it?
The Applied Behavior Analysis Task Force was created by Section 40 of House Bill 5003-E, the budget implementing bill passed in the Legislature's 2026 special session. The bill places it within the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which runs Florida Medicaid.
The law says the task force exists "to evaluate the delivery of applied behavior analysis services in a manner that promotes high-quality, family-centered care while ensuring long-term financial sustainability of the Medicaid program and cost predictability without disrupting access for current enrollees and families."
Its work concerns Florida Medicaid. It does not cover private insurance, which is governed by different laws.
What does the law ask the task force to study?
Section 40 lists six topics. The task force "shall evaluate":
- clinical care models that lead to best practices for therapy "at the appropriate ages";
- transitions for enrollees receiving ABA across developmental, educational and community settings;
- quality metrics for ABA services;
- "Limits and utilization controls related to the length of time" ABA services may be authorized;
- "Potential caps on the number of months an enrollee may receive ABA services"; and
- ways to strengthen Medicaid provider enrollment and billing standards "to promote program integrity and fiscal accountability."
It must then develop recommendations for revising the state's service delivery model. The report goes to the Governor, the Senate President and the House Speaker by December 31, 2026, and "must include advantages and disadvantages of each recommendation." The section expires July 1, 2027.
Who sits on the task force?
The law sets 10 members. AHCA Secretary Shevaun L. Harris chairs it as a non-voting member. The others, as listed on AHCA's task force page:
- David O. Childers, MD, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville (Senate President appointee);
- Kerri P. Peters, PhD, BCBA-D, University of Florida (Senate President appointee);
- Stella Johnson, Hope Haven (Senate President appointee);
- Yanerys León, PhD, BCBA-D, University of Miami (House Speaker appointee);
- Kali Wilson, RN, Florida Community Care (House Speaker appointee);
- Carol Gormley, Independent Living Systems / Florida Community Care (House Speaker appointee);
- Kale Baker, LCSW, Molina Healthcare (Governor appointee);
- David Brown, LCSW, Family Initiative (Governor appointee); and
- a family member of a Medicaid managed care enrollee who receives ABA, appointed by the Governor. AHCA's page listed this seat as "To be announced" when we checked on October 20, 2026.
What has the task force discussed so far?
The task force met on August 12, August 31, September 28 and October 5, 2026. A fifth meeting was listed with the date to be announced.
August: background and the federal toolkit
The first meeting reviewed the history and current structure of Medicaid ABA. AHCA's presentation noted that 98.9% of Medicaid ABA recipients are enrolled in a managed care plan, following the move of ABA into Statewide Medicaid Managed Care on February 1, 2025.
At the August 31 meeting, a CMS official presented the federal "State Medicaid and CHIP Applied Behavior Analysis Toolkit," which CMS published in August 2026 as guidance for states. The minutes list 11 recommendations she emphasized, including "Do not allow supervision via telehealth," "Establish supervision ratios," "Utilizing 40 hours per week as a flag for audits" and "Look at value-based care in reimbursement models." These are federal suggestions, not Florida policy. The minutes also say task force members "did not have any items to discuss" when asked for recommendations that day.
September 28: first recommendation ideas
Presentations covered focused versus comprehensive ABA, APD's iBudget waiver services, a provider's view of prior authorization, and a panel of Medicaid managed care plans. Then the chair asked members to begin discussing recommendations. The minutes list ideas raised "as potential recommendations or concepts for further consideration," adding that they "were not presented as task force-approved recommendations":
- a Florida licensure framework for behavior analysts, possibly under the Department of Health (Florida does not license behavior analysts today; it relies on national BACB certification);
- stronger clinical review of treatment plans, including blinded peer review audits and independent BCBAs;
- limits on the number of hours that can be approved, with exceptions for high-acuity cases; and
- limits on Medicaid-funded ABA during school hours, while supporting caregiver training across settings.
October 5: outcomes and supervision
The agenda covered coordinated care across settings, "ABA Outcomes and Accountability: Linking Assessment, Treatment Duration, and Payment," supervision requirements and quality. Approved minutes for that meeting were not yet posted when we checked.
Has anything changed for Medicaid ABA yet?
No. As of October 20, 2026, Florida Medicaid's behavior analysis coverage policy (Rule 59G-4.125, effective February 10, 2025) still governs. Under that policy, Medicaid covers medically necessary behavior analysis for recipients under 21, up to 40 hours a week as prior authorized, with behavior plans authorized for up to six months at a time and no copayment. Services above those limits may be approved under EPSDT when medically necessary.
The task force cannot change these rules itself. It writes recommendations. Any change would come later through legislation in the 2027 session, through AHCA rulemaking, or through managed care contracts, and each of those has its own public process. If you read a headline that ABA "has been capped," check the date and source.
Does the task force affect private insurance or TRICARE?
No. The task force's mandate is Florida Medicaid. Private plans follow their contracts, Florida's Geller Act (s. 627.6686) for fully insured large-group plans, and federal law. TRICARE follows Department of Defense rules for its Autism Care Demonstration. If your child has both Medicaid and private insurance, the private plan's rules for its part of the coverage do not change because of the task force. See does insurance cover ABA in Florida.
How can families follow the task force or share their views?
- Watch the AHCA task force page. Agendas, meeting materials and approved minutes are posted at ahca.myflorida.com/aba-task-force.html. The law requires meeting notices to be published in advance there.
- Give public comment. Each meeting so far has included a public comment period.
- Send questions by email to BACOMMENTS@ahca.myflorida.com, the address AHCA lists.
- Contact your state legislators before and during the 2027 session, when any law change would be debated.
Our guide on how to be heard by the task force has tips on writing a short, effective comment.
What should Medicaid families do now?
Keep your child's paperwork current: the physician's order, the comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, the behavior plan and reassessments every six months. If your plan reduces or denies services, you have appeal rights through the plan and then a state fair hearing. For a full picture of the current program, read Florida Medicaid ABA in 2026. We will update this page after the report is released.
Hope Center for Behavior Change works with commercial insurance and TRICARE East, with a sliding scale for the family's share. A child who has Medicaid cannot be seen self-pay at Hope Center (center policy), but families can add employer or Marketplace insurance, which we accept. If your family also has private coverage, or is weighing options, we offer a free benefits check. See insurance at Hope Center or call 561-337-8865.