If your child's Medicaid plan denied, cut or stopped ABA, you can appeal to the plan within 60 days of the notice; appealing within 10 days can keep approved hours going. If DCF ended the Medicaid, appeal within 10 days of DCF's letter. If your agency left the plan, ask the plan for another in-network provider.
Step 1: Who made the decision?
Your letter says who decided and why. In July 2026, Palm Beach County families told WPTV that Medicaid had stopped covering their children's ABA, and AHCA had not explained why. If your child is in a Medicaid health plan, that plan has approved and paid for ABA since February 1, 2025, so start there.
- The plan denied, reduced or stopped hours: it must send a Notice of Adverse Benefit Determination.
- Medicaid itself ended: the letter usually comes from DCF, which decides eligibility.
- Your agency left the plan or stopped taking Medicaid: your child may still be covered.
If the plan cut or denied hours
Appeal to the plan within 60 days of the date on the notice, by phone or in writing; the plan must help you. It must decide within 30 days, or within 48 hours if it agrees that waiting could harm your child (an expedited appeal).
If approved hours were reduced or stopped, file within 10 days after the notice was mailed, or before the cut starts, and ask for services to continue; they continue only while the current approval period lasts. If the decision is upheld in the end, AHCA says the cost of those services may be billed, but Medicaid cannot be taken away if you cannot pay. Letters from your child's doctor and BCBA on medical necessity help. Our appeal guide has every step, including the AHCA fair hearing.
If DCF ended your child's Medicaid
If you think the decision is wrong, DCF says to appeal within 10 days of the date on the denial letter, and you can choose to keep Medicaid during the appeal. Children under 19 who become ineligible may keep Medicaid for up to 12 months after their last review. Reapply or report changes in MyACCESS (myaccess.myflfamilies.com). If your child no longer qualifies, DCF refers the application to Florida KidCare. DCF call center: (850) 300-4323.
If your agency left the network
AHCA says your child's plan can help you find an in-network ABA provider. Call the plan's member services and ask which agencies have openings. For problems getting ABA, AHCA lists the Medicaid Helpline: 1-877-254-1055.
Paramount Behavior is a bilingual ABA agency in Greenacres that accepts Florida Medicaid; call (561) 421-0047 to ask about your child's plan. We work with Molina Healthcare, Sunshine Health, Children's Medical Services Health Plan and Community Care Plan in Palm Beach County, and we are taking new families. We also check your child's coverage for free, usually the same day you call.
Where can I get legal help?
Florida Health Justice Project has an online intake for families who need legal help because services were denied. It decides which cases it takes.
What if services stopped and no letter came?
Call the plan and ask for its decision in writing. Florida Health Justice Project says the plan must send a notice when it denies, cuts or stops services; if it does not, you may be able to ask AHCA for a fair hearing directly.
General information as of October 21, 2026, not legal or medical advice for your child. If losing services is followed by serious self-injury or aggression, call your child's doctor, or 911 in an emergency.
Sources
- SMMC Program Snapshot: Process for Enrollee Grievances and Appeals. Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), accessed October 21, 2026.
- Behavior Analysis Services Information. Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), accessed October 21, 2026.
- Medicaid (eligibility, appeals, MyACCESS). Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), accessed October 21, 2026.
- How to File an Appeal with Your Medicaid Managed Care Plan. Florida Health Justice Project, accessed October 21, 2026.
- Florida families fight Medicaid cuts to autism therapy, say children lost access without warning. WPTV (news report, 2026-07-27), accessed October 21, 2026.