ABA Medicaid rates in Texas sit just under the national middle for individual therapy and at the very bottom for groups. Texas Medicaid pays $58.00 an hour for code 97153, one-on-one ABA delivered by a technician, 28th of 42 states and 8.6% below the national median of $63.44. That rate reflects a September 1, 2025 increase. On group ABA, Texas pays the lowest rates in the country for both technician-led and analyst-led sessions.
All figures here are compiled from official Texas Medicaid (TMHP) publications, and each rate links to its source document.
The 97153 Texas Medicaid rate after the 2025 increase
Texas publishes 97153 at $14.50 per 15-minute unit with no modifier, or $58.00 an hour, effective since September 1, 2025. Texas sits above the lowest states, New York at $38.52 and Louisiana at $40.00, but well below the national leaders: Alaska at $127.80, Georgia at $123.64 and Iowa at $114.36.
Federal data for May 2025 puts the Texas median wage for the closest comparable technician occupation at $22.05 an hour, almost exactly the national $22.08. That wage is 54.0% of the 97153 rate, leaving a margin of $26.66 an hour after a loaded wage to pay for supervision, travel, cancellations and administration.
Texas Medicaid ABA reimbursement for analysts
Texas pays its analyst codes with modifier HO, and those rates sit close to the national medians:
| Code | Service | Texas per hour | Rank | vs national median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97155 (HO) | Treatment with plan changes by an analyst | $100.40 | 22 of 41 | -0.6% |
| 97151 (HO) | Assessment by an analyst | $110.24 | 24 of 41 | -5.4% |
| 97156 (HO) | Parent and caregiver training | $92.04 | 24 of 43 | -2.9% |
| 97154 | Group ABA led by a technician | $6.52 | 37 of 37 | -78.2% |
| 97158 (HO) | Group ABA led by an analyst | $11.24 | 30 of 30 | -69.9% |
97155 pays $25.10 per unit, essentially at the national median of $101.04. The assessment (97151) pays $27.56 per unit and caregiver training (97156) pays $23.01. All three took effect September 1, 2025.
The Texas analyst proxy wage is $30.11 an hour, against $28.53 nationally. Margins after a loaded wage:
- 97155: wage share 42.6%, margin $57.60 an hour.
- 97151: wage share 38.8%, margin $67.44 an hour.
- 97156: wage share 46.5%, margin $49.24 an hour.
Both wage figures use proxy occupations and are floors rather than market pay for credentialed staff.
Group ABA in Texas: the lowest rates in the country
Texas is last in the nation on both group codes. Technician-led groups (97154) pay $1.63 per unit, or $6.52 an hour, 78.2% below the national median of $29.96. Missouri at $8.20 and North Dakota at $10.88 are the next-lowest. Analyst-led groups (97158) pay $2.81 per unit, or $11.24 an hour, 69.9% below the national median of $37.30, just under Connecticut at $11.88 and Louisiana at $12.00.
Both group rates still carry a March 1, 2024 effective date; the September 2025 increase did not reach them. At these rates, group sessions in Texas are hard to justify on revenue grounds, and agencies should plan for individual sessions to carry the caseload.
Texas ABA limits and prior authorization
Texas publishes detailed ABA limits alongside its rates:
- 97153, 97154, 97155 and 97158 share a combined per-day limit. Every hour of technician therapy, analyst treatment and group ABA on a given day counts against the same cap.
- 97151 is limited per evaluation or re-evaluation, with a 30-day authorization period, and carries two prior authorization rules.
- 97153, 97154, 97155, 97156 and 97158 each carry one prior authorization rule; T1027 carries none.
For scheduling, the combined daily cap is the rule that matters most. An analyst's protocol-modification time and a technician's direct time on the same day draw from one pool, so supervision overlap needs to be planned within the cap.
Recent Texas ABA rate changes
Texas's recent ABA rate history:
- March 1, 2024: Reimbursement Rate Changes and Updates for Certain Texas Medicaid Procedure Codes, a 1.98% change, published January 19, 2024. A Biennial Calendar Fee Review with a 1.7% change went to hearing for the same date.
- September 1, 2025: Reimbursement Rate Updates for Procedure Codes Presented at the July 22, 2025, Public Rate Hearing, a 10.0% change, published August 21, 2025.
- September 1, 2025: GAA 2026-27 Art. II HHSC Rider 30: Rate Increase for Applied Behavior Analysis Services and Report on Autism Services, enacted and published September 18, 2025.
A separate notice of proposed adjustments covering applied behavior analysis services, along with fetal medicine radiology and a dental rate reallocation, went to hearing with a September 1, 2025 date and a -40.4% figure. The current rates above are the ones in effect.
Texas managed care and ABA payment
For behavioral health, Texas's rule is that plans negotiate their own rates, and the published rate applies out of network. An ABA agency contracted with a Texas Medicaid plan is paid its contract rate, and the TMHP schedule is the benchmark and the default for out-of-network claims. Our data counts 19 plans. See Texas managed care rules.
For the national ranking, see ABA Medicaid rates by state; for every Texas code, the Texas Medicaid rates hub; and for how units are converted and ranked, our methodology.
Updated 2026-10-05