ABA Medicaid rates in Colorado sit just above the national middle for therapy and well above it for assessment: Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, pays $68.80 an hour for code 97153, ranking 18th of 42 states and 8.4% above the national median of $63.44. The rate is $17.20 per 15-minute unit, effective 2025-10-01.
Two features distinguish Colorado. The assessment code carries a TJ modifier and ranks in the national top ten. And the state's managed-care rule for behavioral health sets the published rate as a floor that plans must meet. All rates here are compiled from official Colorado Medicaid publications and link to their source documents on the Colorado Medicaid rates hub.
Colorado Medicaid ABA reimbursement, code by code
Colorado publishes five of the seven core ABA codes, all effective 2025-10-01.
| Code | Per 15 min | Per hour | Rank | vs national median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97151 analyst assessment (TJ) | $39.61 | $158.44 | 10 of 41 | +35.9% |
| 97155 analyst plan changes | $25.80 | $103.20 | 20 of 41 | +2.1% |
| 97153 technician therapy | $17.20 | $68.80 | 18 of 42 | +8.4% |
| 97158 analyst-led group | $9.34 | $37.36 | 15 of 30 | +0.2% |
| 97154 technician-led group | $8.81 | $35.24 | 14 of 37 | +17.6% |
Our data has no Colorado rate for caregiver training (97156) or technician-assisted assessment (97152).
The shape is distinctive. Colorado's treatment codes track the national median closely: 97155 is 2.1% above it and 97158 just 0.2% above. The assessment code, by contrast, pays $158.44 an hour, which is 35.9% above the median and places Colorado among the ten best-paying states for an initial or updated assessment.
The assessment premium and the missing caregiver code
For an ABA agency, the assessment premium is welcome but limited. Assessments happen at intake and at reassessment intervals, so they are a small share of billed hours compared with ongoing 97153 and 97155 time.
The absence of a published 97156 rate is the bigger operational question. Caregiver training is a standard part of most ABA treatment plans, and nationally it pays a median of $94.80 an hour across 46 states. An agency entering Colorado should confirm how the state expects family training to be billed before building it into a treatment model.
Groups, on the other hand, are relatively well paid. Colorado's technician-led group rate of $35.24 an hour is 17.6% above the national median of $29.96 and ranks 14th of 37.
The FY 2025-26 R-9 rate change
The one recent change on file is the "FY 2025-26 R-9 Proposed Rate Changes - PBT," with a proposed effective date of 2025-07-01 and a recorded change of -14.3%. The current Colorado ABA rates carry a 2025-10-01 effective date, so they post-date that proposal.
For agencies that have operated in Colorado for several years, the practical implication is that rates have been under downward pressure. Contracts or budgets built on older schedules should be checked against the 2025-10-01 figures on this page.
Labor costs and margins in Colorado
Colorado wages run slightly above national levels. The median wage for the closest comparable technician occupation was $22.93 an hour in May 2025, against $22.08 nationally; the analyst proxy was $30.00, against $28.53. Both figures are proxy occupations and understate pay for credentialed RBTs and BCBAs.
- 97153: wages take 47.4% of the $68.80 rate, leaving $36.21 an hour after a loaded wage.
- 97155: wages take 41.3% of the $103.20 rate, leaving $60.56.
- 97151: wages take 26.9% of the $158.44 rate, leaving $115.80.
Because Colorado's technician wage is above the national median while its rate is only modestly above, the technician margin is tighter than the 18th-place rank suggests. Assessment hours carry by far the best margin.
Prior authorization: a heavy rule set
Colorado has one of the denser prior-authorization profiles on file. The coverage rules list 28 prior-authorization rules for 97151 and 14 each for 97153, 97154, 97155 and 97158. No unit limits are published.
That volume of rules points to an authorization process with multiple conditions per service, and it is worth staffing for. Agencies should expect to manage separate authorization tracks for assessment and for ongoing treatment, and to document medical necessity carefully at each renewal.
Managed care: the published rate is the floor
Colorado's programs on file include Health First Colorado (fee-for-service), Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), and a capitated behavioral health benefit run through Regional Accountable Entities. Under the state's behavioral health rule, "Plans must pay at least the published rate."
That is a provider-friendly rule. In states where plans negotiate freely, the fee schedule is only a reference point; in Colorado, the rates on this page set the minimum a plan should pay for in-scope behavioral health services. Twenty-four plans are on file; the Colorado managed-care page lists them and the rule for each service line.
How Colorado compares with other states
Colorado's $68.80 is far from the top of the 97153 table, where Alaska pays $127.80, Georgia $123.64 and Iowa $114.36. It is comfortably above the bottom, where Louisiana pays $40.00 and New York $38.52. On assessment, Colorado sits behind New Mexico ($450.60), Vermont, Minnesota, Delaware and Kansas. See the national ABA rates hub for every state, and our methodology for how rates are converted to an hourly basis.
Updated 2026-10-05