06/17/2026
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! Please share this information with others that could be affected đź’™
🚨 URGENT ALERT FOR ALABAMA FAMILIES OF CHILDREN RECEIVING ABA THERAPY THROUGH MEDICAID 🚨
If your child receives Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy through Alabama Medicaid, you need to read this and contact your pediatrician TODAY.
Effective July 1, 2026 — less than three weeks away — Alabama Medicaid is implementing a new requirement that will directly impact your child's ability to continue receiving ABA services.
Here's what's changing:
Pediatricians must now apply for a new specialty designation (ABA Specialty 175) through Alabama Medicaid before their autism diagnosis will be valid for ABA therapy referrals. If your child's pediatrician does not have this designation on file before July 1, referrals will be DENIED.
There is no grace period. There is no grandfathering of existing referrals. Children who are actively receiving services right now are not protected.
What you need to do RIGHT NOW:
đź“ž Call your child's pediatrician's office today and ask:
"Has your practice submitted a written request to Alabama Medicaid to add ABA Specialty 175 to your enrollment?"
If the answer is no — or if they don't know what you're talking about — that's a problem, and it needs to be fixed before July 1.
Your pediatrician will need to submit a written request on official letterhead to Alabama Medicaid that includes:
Provider Name
National Provider Identifier (NPI)
Alabama Medicaid Provider Number
Service Location Address
Also important:
If your child's autism diagnosis came from a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP), that diagnosis will no longer be accepted for ABA Medicaid referrals under this new rule. You may need to obtain a diagnosis from a licensed physician.
Why is this happening?
Alabama Medicaid confirmed this change was triggered in response to widespread Medicaid fraud in the ABA provider community — most recently and visibly, the collapse of Beacon of Hope clinics across the Wiregrass region, which displaced an estimated 200 children and is currently under investigation.
The fraud was real. The response, however, falls on the children.
BCBAs across Alabama were only notified of this change yesterday. Pediatricians, as of this morning, have largely received NO notification from Medicaid at all. ABA providers are currently calling every pediatrician for every client they serve to get ahead of this. They should not have to do this alone.
If you are a parent, share this post. If you are a pediatrician or work in a pediatric office, please verify your enrollment status immediately. If you are an advocate, now is the time.
These children cannot afford a gap in services. For many of them, consistency is not a preference — it is a clinical necessity.
đź“Ś The Alabama Medicaid notice can be found on the Alabama Medicaid website under News & Notices: https://medicaid.alabama.gov/alert_detail.aspx?ID=16758
Please share widely.
