Children on the CMS Health Plan often have several therapies, medications and specialists running at once. When the plan's administrator changes, the question every parent asks first is whether the team stays the same. For ABA, the honest answer is: usually yes, if you check two things early.
What continuity of care means
When a Medicaid managed-care plan changes administrators, the new administrator is required to honor existing authorizations and allow members to continue with their current providers for a defined period, even if those providers are not yet in the new network. The purpose is exactly this situation: preventing a treatment gap while paperwork catches up.
During the continuity period:
- Sessions authorized under the previous administrator continue.
- Claims for those sessions are paid by the new administrator.
- Providers who are not yet contracted can be paid as out-of-network for the continuity period, and are expected to join the network or transition the child's care before it ends.
The length of the period is set by the plan and the state; check your plan's transition notice for the exact dates that apply to your child.
The two things to check
1. Is your provider contracted with the new administrator? Since the CMS Health Plan moved to Molina Healthcare on October 1, 2026, that means a Molina CMS contract. A contracted provider needs nothing from you except the new member ID. A non-contracted provider can continue during continuity but will need to either join Molina's network or help you transfer.
2. When does the current authorization end? Authorizations are typically six months. One that expires shortly after the transition needs a reauthorization submitted to the new administrator, which involves a progress report from the BCBA. Ask your provider whether that report is scheduled.
Beaton Care Services is contracted with Molina, including the CMS Health Plan, so our families need only the new card.
If you need or want to switch providers
Transfers happen for many reasons: a provider is not in network, a family moves, hours are not available, or the fit is not right. A well-run transfer looks like this:
- You sign a release so the new provider can request records from the old one: the diagnostic evaluation, the most recent assessment and treatment plan, progress reports and data.
- The new provider's BCBA reviews the records and completes an updated assessment. This is shorter than a first assessment because the history already exists.
- The new provider submits a treatment plan and authorization request to the plan.
- Sessions begin, keeping the goals that were working and revising the ones that were not.
Overlap is possible: the old provider can continue during continuity while the new authorization is processed, so the child does not lose weeks.
Questions worth asking any ABA provider now
- Are you contracted with Molina Healthcare for the CMS Health Plan?
- When does my child's current authorization end, and when will you submit the next one?
- Who is my child's BCBA, and how often do they see my child?
- Do you provide sessions at school, and have you coordinated with my child's school before?
- What happens if a technician leaves? How quickly is a replacement assigned?
If you do not get clear answers, that is information too.
How we can help
If you are on the CMS Health Plan and unsure where your child's therapy stands, a bilingual member of our team will check your plan status and current authorization with you by phone within one business day. We are an independent provider, not the plan; we cannot change the plan's rules, but we can tell you exactly where your child is in the process and what to do next.