ABA and RBT guide for North Dakota

Last researched October 21, 2026

Start with the topic you need

• Payers and coverage

  Autism insurance mandate, Medicaid ABA, major payers and how to enroll.

  9 verified facts

• Telehealth vs in-person

  BCBA licensure and telehealth or telesupervision rules.

  3 verified facts

• BT vs RBT

  What a behavior technician needs to work in this state.

  6 verified facts

• Practice requirements

  Internal processes a practice must follow.

  6 verified facts

The autism coverage law in North Dakota

ND Insurance Department Bulletin 2018-1, issued July 10, 2018, applies federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) requirements to autism treatment coverage. This is a parity-based regulatory requirement; no autism-specific coverage statute was identified in the current NDCC chapter 26.1-36. See coverage details and sources.

Getting a new technician started in North Dakota

ND Medicaid lets degree-holding new hires enroll as skills trainers immediately but they must earn RBT/BCAT within six months, so a new BT can start before finishing RBT credentialing if the agency is Medicaid-enrolled and the degree is on the approved list. Workforce is thin (state testimony cites shortages of BCBAs/RBTs and waitlists). BCBAs must hold an ND license (LBA), which takes board processing time. (Our research note; confirm with the agencies on the BT vs RBT page.)

What we are still checking

• Whether any ND statute mandating ABA/autism coverage has been enacted after the 2017 defeat of HB 1434; and how the Insurance Dept Bulletin 2018-1 applies to self-funded plans (state generally cannot regulate ERISA self-funded plans).
• Which ABA CPT codes (97153, 97155, 97156) ND Medicaid allows by telehealth, and any telesupervision rules; check the Procedure Code Look-up Tool.
• Background check/fingerprinting requirements for BTs or ABA agencies in ND (not found in sources read).
• Current LBA/LABA fee schedule and whether RBTs working under supervision need any state registration.
• Whether ND Medicaid Expansion managed-care plan covers ABA and any separate RBT rules.
• Correction to the original insurance section: absence of an autism-specific statute does not establish absence of a coverage requirement. The Department's announcement and Sanford examination support a parity-based requirement under Bulletin 2018-1; exists is now true with that qualification. No autism-specific statute was identified in the current NDCC chapter 26.1-36.
• The original reference to all self-funded plans was overbroad: the Department's announcement specifically includes Department-regulated self-funded Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements. A blanket self-funded-plan exclusion cannot be represented accurately by a single boolean, so excludes_self_funded_plans remains null; individual self-funded plan obligations and benefits were not verified.
• The categorical no-cap description relies on Autism Speaks' December 2019 summary. Current member-specific age restrictions, benefit exclusions and lawful limitations require verification. Historical Sanford age-tiered caps are not evidence of current permissible limits.
• Which ABA CPT codes, including 97153, 97155 and 97156, ND Medicaid currently permits through audiovisual or audio-only telehealth remains unverified. The interactive lookup required acceptance of a license agreement, which was not accepted, and the current downloadable fee schedule could not be read.
• ABA-specific initial or periodic in-person requirements and ND Medicaid or commercial reimbursement rules for telesupervision remain unverified. BACB permission for video supervision is a certification standard, not a payer coverage determination.
• Whether NDCC 26.1-36-09.15 applies to a behavior analyst licensed solely under chapter 43-64 remains unverified; chapter 43-64 is not expressly listed in its health care provider definition.
• Current commercial-plan requirements for unregistered BTs, RBT certification, state technician credentials and rendering-provider billing were not established. Medicaid's six-month degree-holder pathway must not be assumed to apply to commercial plans.
• bcba_licensure: verifier astra marked conflict - CONFLICT: [NDCC 43-57-07(2)](https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t43c57.pdf) specifies December 31 of even-numbered years, whereas the [official alternate rule PDF](https://ndlegis.gov/information/acdata/pdf/112-05-01.pdf), §§112-05-01-08 and -13, specifies November 15 of odd-numbered years. Do not publish the latter as an uncontested current deadline. The stated titles, degree/program requirements, examinations, BACB certification and $50 application, $500 initial, $100 temporary, $100 renewal and $75 late fees match that rule; quarterly proration and January 1, 2021 history also match. Add LABA supervision by a qualified ND-licensed behavior analyst and current-certification documentation. The board homepage and attempted archive were inaccessible; current board fee guidance and whether the professional-responsibility examination has been developed remain unverified.
• practice_requirements: verifier astra marked conflict - The blanket statement that private-practice clinicians need LBA/LABA licenses is overbroad. [§112-05-01-14](https://ndlegis.gov/information/acdata/pdf/112-05-01.pdf) contains conditional exemptions for psychologists, other licensed/certified professionals and supervisees, technicians, and public-school services. Their conditions and title restrictions matter. Training, qualified oversight, authorization attachments and public-school enrollment are supported by the [ABA policy](https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/autism-aba-service-policy-and-procedures.pdf); school services still require a BCBA-written care plan. Keep facility_or_agency_license and background_check_rules as unestablished, not as findings that no requirements exist. Individual licensure and [Medicaid group enrollment](https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/applied-behavior-analysis-group-app-exclusion.pdf) are separate requirements.

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