Telehealth and telesupervision for ABA in Michigan

Yes.

Behavior Analyst (licensed behavior analyst, LBA)

Michigan Board of Behavior Analysts (LARA, Bureau of Professional Licensing)

Michigan Public Health Code and the Behavior Analyst General Rules, as identified on the LARA Behavior Analysts page. The LARA Behavior Analyst Licensing Guide (rev. 1/26/2026) references administrative rules R 338.1821 (human trafficking training) and R 338.1823.

As of 2026-10-21, per the LARA Behavior Analyst Licensing Guide (rev. 1/26/2026): application plus initial 4-year license fee $452.40; relicensure $472.40; renewal $374.40; 4-year renewal cycle. Apply via MiPLUS. Requirements per the guide: BACB certification in good standing, verified directly by the BACB (BACB certification is a national credential, not itself a state license); criminal background check (the guide exempts relicensure applicants whose license expired within the preceding three years); good-moral-character and sex-offender questions; one-time human trafficking training; 2 hours of implicit bias training within the preceding 5 years (1 hour per year of the license cycle at renewal); and English proficiency. An SSN is requested; applicants who do not have an SSN, including those legally exempt from obtaining one, upload an affidavit instead. LARA also publishes a separate Assistant Behavior Analyst licensing guide, which the checker opened and found confirms supervision verification; details of assistant licensure were not otherwise verified here. Confirm current fees and requirements with LARA before applying.

Yes, per the sources below.

As of 2026-10-21, permission is payer- and code-specific. Medicaid: the MDHHS specialty behavioral health telemedicine database linked from its current reporting page (page updated 06/30/2026; PDF header effective June 1, 2026) allows simultaneous audio/video for 97155, 97156, 97157 and 97158, with POS 02 or 10 and no telemedicine modifier required. These rows do not authorize audio-only delivery. Its change log explicitly records removal of 0362T, 97151, 97153 and 97154 on 04/28/2023; they remain absent from the allowed-service rows. Thus the current database does not authorize remote technician direct treatment under 97153 or 97154, regardless of RBT status. MMP 23-10 requires beneficiary choice, clinical appropriateness and inclusion in the person-centered service plan. Commercial example: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and BCN guidance revised February 2026 lists 97151 and 97153–97158 as payable through synchronous telemedicine for commercial members with an autism benefit; technician interventions under 97153/97154 depend on member suitability. These findings do not establish commercial RBT credential requirements or independent technician billing eligibility. R 338.1832, effective December 7, 2021, requires licensed behavior analysts to obtain and retain telehealth consent, remain within their scope and meet the same standard of care as in-person services. Medicaid, board and named-payer findings are supported by primary sources; the section's medium confidence reflects the secondary-source verification of the parity statute.

MCL 500.3476, as reproduced in Justia's 2025 Michigan Compiled Laws, includes amendments effective April 2, 2025. For policies subject to the section, insurers may not require in-person contact for services they determine can appropriately be provided through telemedicine and must provide at least equivalent coverage to the same service delivered in person. Policy terms, including cost-sharing and approved amounts, still apply; professionals must be licensed, registered or otherwise authorized where the patient is located. This is a general coverage provision, not an ABA-specific authorization of every code or an express equal-payment-rate requirement. Medium confidence: the Legislature's statute viewer and PDF endpoints returned 403, so the statutory text was read through Justia.

BHT is designed to be delivered primarily in home and community settings, including centers and clinics. MMP 23-10, issued March 2, 2023 and effective May 12, 2023, requires reasonably frequent periodic in-person evaluations, prioritizes in-person community interactions and does not permit telemedicine to replace separately required in-person visits. It also requires appropriate on-site support when a beneficiary cannot communicate effectively or independently. The reviewed provisions do not specify a fixed ABA in-person visit interval. Blue Cross/BCN's May 2023 technician telemedicine guidance considers member skills, safety, caregiver availability and progress; it describes these suitability factors as guidance rather than formal requirements and directs providers to consider alternative telemedicine services and in-person interventions when progress is insufficient.

Medicaid permits 97155 clinical observation and direction with protocol modification by a qualified professional through simultaneous audio/video. MMP 23-10 requires all elements of the billed service to be performed; this code allowance does not by itself establish that every credentialing or employment supervision obligation can be fulfilled remotely. Blue Cross/BCN commercial guidance revised February 2026 permits 97155 protocol modification through telehealth for up to 100% of that service time. It also lists S5108 for LBA supervision of a technician, but only for Michigan providers serving out-of-state members who cannot use the AMA category I codes. Whether all Medicaid-required technician supervision hours may be remote was not explicitly resolved by the reviewed sources.