Telehealth and telesupervision for ABA in Massachusetts

It depends.

Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst; Licensed Assistant Applied Behavior Analyst

Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions

We could not verify this yet - check with Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions.

M.G.L. c. 112, sections 163-172; 262 CMR 10.00. Licensure is required to practice applied behavior analysis, subject to the exemptions in section 164A, including practice consistent with the accepted standards of other professions and specified supervised school/agency IEP or ISP activities. Section 165: the ABA license requires a master's degree (30 graduate credit hours in behavior analysis) or a doctoral degree (60 graduate credit hours), a supervised practicum and a board-approved exam. An alternative route exists for a master's or doctorate in another human-services field plus a board-approved behavior-analysis certificate and approved course sequence. The assistant ABA license requires a bachelor's degree plus board-approved coursework meeting the board's standards (at least 135 classroom hours), a supervised practicum and an exam. 262 CMR 10.04 refers to Board-approved examination(s); the specific approved exam was not confirmed from the cited sources.

Licenses are valid two years (c. 112 section 168). Fee amounts are not specified in the cited statutes; a current fee schedule remains unverified as of 2026-10-21.

Sometimes. See the detail below.

As of 2026-10-21, M.G.L. c. 175, section 47MM requires insurers to provide coverage for health care services delivered via telehealth, but only where the service is covered when delivered in person and may be appropriately provided by telehealth. For behavioral health services delivered by interactive audio-video technology or audio-only telephone, payment to contracted providers shall be no less than the payment for the same in-person behavioral-health service (a minimum payment floor). Section 47MM does not expressly name ABA. For the verified Carelon/MBHP coverage context, ABA telehealth is conditionally permitted under specifications updated February 15, 2026: a HIPAA-compliant platform; a parent/caregiver request; remote delivery that is effective and clinically appropriate; a documented rationale; continued in-person availability; and the ability to withdraw telehealth consent without service interruption. M.G.L. c. 118E, section 79 is MassHealth's general coverage rule. These findings should not be extended to every payer, code, or audio-only ABA service. Explicit authorization and billing rules for ABA telesupervision were not established by the sources opened.

M.G.L. c. 175, section 47MM (as summarized from the statute page). The consolidated section does not state its effective date; the enacting emergency law, St. 2020 c. 260, section 47, was approved January 1, 2021. Also see M.G.L. c. 118E, section 79 for MassHealth's general coverage rule.

Insurers may not satisfy network adequacy through significant reliance on telehealth and must ensure timely in-person access on request (as summarized; the statute uses a 'significant reliance' standard). For the Carelon/MBHP ABA context, in-person service must remain available and telehealth consent can be withdrawn without service interruption.

We could not verify this yet - check with the state Medicaid agency or licensing board.