Does Maryland Medicaid Cover ABA Therapy? What Parents Should Know

Short answer: yes. Maryland Medicaid covers ABA therapy for children and young adults under 21 with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, when it's medically necessary. Like every state, Maryland must cover medically necessary treatment for members under 21 through the federal EPSDT benefit, and Maryland administers ABA through its dedicated ABA services program.

What you need for coverage

1. An ASD diagnosis from a qualified provider, with a written evaluation report. Not sure where to start? See how to get your child evaluated in Maryland.
2. A recommendation for ABA, typically from the diagnosing clinician or your child's doctor.
3. Prior authorization from Medicaid. This is the paperwork step your ABA provider should own, not you.

What it costs

For most Maryland Medicaid families, approved ABA therapy comes at little to no out-of-pocket cost. Because plan details differ, we verify your child's specific benefits free, within one business day, before you fill out any intake paperwork, so you know exactly what to expect.

Have commercial insurance instead, or both?

Maryland also requires most commercial plans to cover autism treatment, and we work with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare/Optum, and others, including out-of-network benefits. Families with dual Medicaid + commercial coverage can often combine benefits; we coordinate that regularly. If Aetna is your commercial plan, see what Aetna requires to approve ABA therapy, including the protections Maryland regulation adds.

How fast can you start?

The two slow steps are usually the benefit check and the authorization. We compress the first to one business day and run the second for you, so the distance between “we're ready” and a therapist at your door is as short as authorization allows.