How to start an ABA practice in Idaho

Idaho does not require a state license for an ABA practice, according to None for behavior analyst licensure. Medicaid children's intervention: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), Division of Medicaid; DDA certification by DHW.. No state behavior analyst license — Idaho; Medicaid ABA-type services through Children's Habilitation Intervention Services (certified DDAs or independent intervention providers).

License required

No

Issuing agency

None for behavior analyst licensure. Medicaid children's intervention: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW), Division of Medicaid; DDA certification by DHW.

Professional license

behavior analyst: Idaho has no behavior analyst licensure law. No Idaho licensing board or statute for behavior analysts was found; DHW's Medicaid program recognizes the BCBA as the 'Evidence-Based Model Intervention Professional', who may directly modify treatment protocols (code H0004 TG).; technician: No state technician license. Medicaid intervention roles (paraprofessional, specialist, professional) are defined in DHW rules and handbooks rather than by BACB credential.; agency or clinic license: Agencies delivering children's intervention through Medicaid must be DHW-certified Developmental Disabilities Agencies (DDAs). Independent providers may enroll on their own.; medicaid enrollment: Children's Habilitation Intervention Services (CHIS) are available to Medicaid members from birth through the month of their 21st birthday, delivered by DDAs or by enrolled independent providers in the intervention roles above.

Regulation

IDAPA 16.03.09 (Medicaid Basic Plan Benefits — children's habilitation intervention); DDA certification rules

1. Qualify as an Intervention Specialist, Intervention Professional, or Evidence-Based Model (EBM) Intervention Specialist/Professional (the EBM Intervention Professional is a BCBA)
2. Either work through a DHW-certified Developmental Disabilities Agency (DDA), or enroll with Idaho Medicaid as an independent intervention provider
3. Deliver Children's Habilitation Intervention Services (habilitative skill, behavioral intervention, interdisciplinary training, crisis intervention) to members from birth through age 20

Program

Idaho Medicaid (Department of Health and Welfare)

Enrollment portal

Idaho Medicaid Health PAS OnLine (www.idmedicaid.com) — Trading Partner Account and Provider Enrollment Application

Fiscal agent

Gainwell Technologies

Application fee

Federal rule (42 CFR 455.460): the state must collect the CMS application fee from institutional providers that are newly enrolling or re-enrolling; individual physicians and non-physician practitioners are exempt, as are providers already enrolled in (or that already paid the fee to) Medicare or another state's Medicaid/CHIP. CMS set the fee at $750 for calendar year 2026.

Fingerprinting

Federal rule (42 CFR 455.434, 455.450(c)): providers the state places in the 'high' categorical risk level, and anyone owning 5% or more of such a provider, must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.

Site visit

Federal rule (42 CFR 455.432, 455.450(b)-(c)): the state must do site visits before and after enrollment for providers in the 'moderate' or 'high' risk levels, and any enrolled provider must allow unannounced on-site inspections.

Revalidation

Idaho is moving its high-risk provider types to revalidation every three years, more often than the federal five-year minimum, and posts its 2026 revalidation correspondence with CMS on its enrollment page. Federal rule (42 CFR 455.414): every enrolled provider must be revalidated at least once every 5 years.

Full Idaho Medicaid enrollment guide →

CON program

No

Idaho certificate of need details →

State minimum wage

$7.25 an hour

Effective

2009-07-24

Scheduled increases

No scheduled change found in the official sources reviewed.

HCBS 80/20 rule

Federal baseline: 42 CFR 441.302(k) requires the state to show that each provider spends at least 80% of Medicaid payments for homemaker, home health aide and personal care services under 1915(c) waivers on direct care worker pay and benefits. Compliance starts 2030-07-09 (for managed care, the first rating period starting on or after that date); annual payment-adequacy reporting under 441.311(e) starts 2028-07-09. A state may set a lower share for state-defined small providers and exempt providers facing hardship, each only through a public notice-and-comment process. The eCFR text has not changed since 2024-07-09. No state-published 80/20 implementation step (small-provider criteria, hardship exemption or reporting guidance) was found for this state in the official sources reviewed.

Applied behavior analysis organizations — active organization NPIs (NPPES)

46 (as of Sep 13, 2026)

Total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment (latest reported month)

307,060 (as of Jun 1, 2026)

All Idaho ABA Medicaid rates, ranked →

• Adult Developmental Disabilities Waiver (1915(c))
• Aged and Disabled Waiver (1915(c))
• 1915(i) State Plan HCBS Benefit for Children with Developmental Disabilities (1915(i))

Idaho waivers and waiting lists →