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Texas Medicaid and ABA therapy

Yes. Since February 1, 2022, ABA is covered under Texas Health Steps-Comprehensive Care Program (THSteps-CCP). CHIP does not cover ABA.

  • 9Medicaid plans with a directory
  • $14.50per 15 minutes, code 97153 (2025)
  • 466ABA providers in our Texas cities

At 40 hours a week, Texas Medicaid's technician rate comes to $2,320 of billed ABA, the 4th highest of the 6 states on this list (North Carolina: $3,329.60). Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) fee schedule (2025) and North Carolina's (2026).

Filling in a Texas Medicaid application form at a kitchen table

How to get ABA therapy through Texas Medicaid

  1. Get the diagnosis. Your child needs a full diagnostic evaluation that confirms autism. It can be done by a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or a team of trained specialists. It must be dated within 3 years of the request for an ABA evaluation. Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP), Texas Health and Human Services.
  2. Find a provider that takes your plan. Use the list for your city, then check the plan's own directory below.
  3. The provider asks for approval. Prior authorization is needed for the ABA evaluation and before treatment starts. Treatment is first approved in two 90-day periods (180 days in total). After that, it can be renewed for up to 180 days at a time after a new evaluation. Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) [2].
  4. Hours are set by need. Hours are based on your child's medical need and treatment plan. Direct treatment is limited to 8 hours a day. Requests above the state's hour guidelines get a doctor review. Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP).

The rules in Texas

Programme
Texas Medicaid (STAR, STAR Kids and STAR Health) Source: Superior HealthPlan, Texas Health and Human Services.
Age limit
Children and young adults age 20 and younger. Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP), Texas Health and Human Services.
Who can provide it?
A Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) enrolled in Texas Medicaid. Licensed assistant behavior analysts and behavior technicians can work under an LBA, but they cannot enroll in Medicaid. Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP).
What Medicaid pays
$14.50 per 15 minutes for technician-delivered ABA (97153), 2025 schedule. $25.10 per 15 minutes when the analyst adjusts the plan (97155). Source: Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) [2] [3].
Official page
Medicaid Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Services for Children and Youth With Autism Source: Texas Health and Human Services.

Medicaid plans in Texas and their provider directories

Most children on Texas Medicaid are in a managed care plan. ABA providers must be in your plan's network, so search the plan's own directory for "applied behavior analysis".

The state's own Medicaid provider search Source: Texas Health and Human Services.

ABA therapy that accepts Medicaid in Texas, by city

The public register doesn't record which plans a provider takes, so every list below shows all registered ABA providers. Ask each one the same thing: "Are you in network with my Medicaid plan?"