How to enroll an ABA agency in Florida Medicaid in 2026: steps, plan networks and ownership changes

Since February 1, 2025, Florida Medicaid health plans must provide behavior analysis to enrollees aged 0 to 20. After the continuity-of-care period, you can keep serving plan enrollees only if you are in the enrollee’s plan network and enrolled with AHCA as provider type 39. Recipients not in a plan stay in fee-for-service and are billed to AHCA¹. The enrollment policy in force is AHCA’s February 2026 policy, incorporated in rule 59G-1.060 since April 8, 2026²³.

• Provider type 39 has four specialties: RBT, assistant behavior analyst, lead analyst and behavior analysis group². RBTs and assistant analysts must be linked to a group⁴.
• A group must employ or contract with at least one enrolled lead analyst, and one is enough to form a group²⁴.
• A lead analyst holds a BCBA, BCBA-D or FL-CBA, or one of five Florida licenses the policy lists, such as psychologist or clinical social worker. Licensed people without a BACB credential attest to training in behavior analysis². Our license article covers Florida’s credential rules.
• Every application needs an NPI and a taxonomy⁴. AHCA required an active NPI for portal claims from March 27, 2026, and said a missing or outdated NPI would block merging accounts in its new enrollment system⁵.

You apply with the Online Provider Enrollment Wizard, and the application is complete only when every document is received². Once you have the application tracking number, start fingerprints in the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse⁶.

• Who is screened. Level 2 screening covers each principal (officers, directors, a billing agent, managing employees, affiliated persons and owners of 5% or more) and anyone who renders services to recipients, has direct access to them or supervises that care. The provider pays⁷. Every person disclosed in the application gives fingerprints².
• Disclosure. List every direct or indirect owner of 5% or more. If an entity owns you, its owners are disclosed too, and individuals with any ownership are listed whatever the percentage².
• Signatures. Everyone with 5% or more signs the provider agreement, or a senior official signs for all². AHCA’s 2022 guide for behavior analysis groups also counts records custodians, subcontractors and people with signing privileges on the depository account as principals⁸.
• Deadlines and risk. Fix deficiencies within 21 days, or the application is denied and you start over². New lead analysts and groups start in the high risk category². Site visits are covered in our integrity article.

• Bond. The statute lets AHCA require a surety bond up to the greater of $50,000 or the total the provider billed Medicaid in the current or most recent calendar year, and sets a new provider’s bond from its first-year billing estimate⁷. The policy lists a surety bond among the documents a behavior analysis group submits². The amount AHCA asks of an ABA group is not in the sources.
• Inspection. AHCA may inspect the service location before the agreement is signed⁷.
• Denial. AHCA may deny an application as not in the best interest of Medicaid, weighing among other factors how many providers of the same type are already enrolled in the area. Licensed or certified providers are not entitled to enrollment in a Medicaid provider network⁷.

Credentialing is the first step to joining a plan’s network, and each plan runs its own process⁹. Plans must confirm you hold an AHCA agreement and keep checking it. At minimum they look for an NPI, a license or authority to do business, no Medicare or Medicaid sanctions without proof of reinstatement, and a Level 2 check⁹. The statute requires every plan to run a credentialing system as part of its program integrity duties¹⁰.

Plans choose whom to contract with. AHCA’s snapshot says they must onboard the providers they choose within 60 days and give written reasons when they decline a provider⁹. A 2026 bill, SB 1648, would have barred plans from imposing moratoria on ABA providers unless specified criteria were shown to AHCA. It died in committee on March 13, 2026¹¹. AHCA’s January 2025 alert said plans had to pay your existing rate for at least 60 days and could negotiate different rates after that¹.

AHCA’s 2021 FAQ adds that the seller uploads a letter of intent, and that sole proprietors cannot use this route¹⁵.

• Timelines. AHCA’s FAQ for behavior analysis applicants (May 28, 2025) said credential verification took 60 days, plus at least 60 more with an onsite review⁴. AHCA’s readiness tool says 60 days or less from a complete application, but says it draws on the January 2022 policy¹⁷. Treat both as estimates.
• Moratorium. AHCA’s last behavior analysis moratorium, in Miami-Dade and Broward, ended with a final extension through November 13, 2022¹⁸, and we found no later behavior analysis notice. The policy lets AHCA impose new ones², and its 2026 moratoria cover durable medical equipment and adult day care¹²¹⁹.
• New enrollment system. AHCA said a new system is coming⁵. We found no launch notice in its alert lists through October 7, 2026¹⁹²⁰, and its readiness page still sends applicants to the Florida Medicaid portal¹⁷. Check the alerts before you start.

In force: section 409.907, 2026 edition, last amended in 2020⁷, and the February 2026 policy²³. This is not legal advice: confirm with AHCA, the plan or an attorney, especially before a sale.