For ABA providers · Florida

Finally, a reviewer who speaks your language.

ICMS is building Florida's standards-based network of ABA providers — groups and independent BCBAs. Peer-to-peer with actual analysts, published documentation standards, one credentialing file honored across plans. Free to join. We never charge providers, ever.

¿Prefieres hablar en español? Nuestro equipo es bilingüe — escríbenos.

BASELINE INTERVENTION TARGET BEHAVIOR SESSIONS →
Visual analysis is how you read data. It's how we read your authorization requests too — every review at ICMS is conducted by a BCBA, with BCaBAs under BCBA supervision.
Free to join — always Non-exclusive NCQA CR-aligned credentialing BACB Ethics Code compliant Bilingual team (EN/ES)
Why providers join

Built by behavior analysts, for behavior analysts

ICMS administers utilization management and credentialing for health plans covering pediatric ABA in Florida. That means when your authorization request is reviewed, the person reviewing it holds the same certification you do.

BCBA ↔ BCBA

Peer-to-peer with a peer

Reviews and pre-denial conversations happen analyst-to-analyst. No more defending clinical decisions to someone reading a checklist who has never written a behavior plan.

1 file

Credential once, use everywhere

One primary-source-verified credentialing file — BACB, Florida Medicaid, exclusions — maintained by us and honored across every plan delegation ICMS wins. Each new payer contract we sign increases the value of already being in.

$0

Zero cost, zero strings

No participation fee. No exclusivity. Terminable without cause on notice. The agreement asks for standards and data hygiene — it takes nothing from you.

59G-4.125

Know what "complete" looks like

Published documentation standards mapped to Florida's BA Coverage Policy: what a complete CDE package, behavior plan, and reassessment look like — before you submit, not after a denial.

Predictable turnaround

Transparent authorization status through the provider portal and decision timelines aligned to plan contract standards, NCQA/URAC, and 42 CFR §438.210.

A credibility signal

In a market where hundreds of behavior analysts were blocked from Medicaid enrollment over fraud concerns, membership in a standards-based network tells plans and families you operate differently.

Our independence commitment

ICMS never charges providers for anything, and never sells services to the providers whose authorization requests we review. Network participation is standards-based and free — permanently. This separation is required by the NCQA/URAC utilization management standards we operate under and by the BACB Ethics Code our reviewers are bound to. It's also what makes our clinical decisions credible to the plans that delegate to us — which is what makes the network valuable to you.

How joining works

Four steps, no fees, no commitments you can't exit

1

Apply

Email us your organization info (or your individual BCBA certification) and service counties.

2

Verify

We run primary source verification — BACB, Florida Medicaid enrollment, OIG/SAM exclusions — at no cost to you.

3

Sign

One participation agreement covering documentation standards, data sharing, and peer-review procedures. Groups sign once with a staff roster.

4

Activate

Your verified file is honored across ICMS plan delegations as they launch — you're in the panel plans see from day one.

Now enrolling: ABA groups and independent BCBAs serving Medicaid-enrolled children across Florida, with priority onboarding for Miami-Dade, Broward, Tampa Bay, and Orlando service areas. Spanish-speaking and school-based providers: your capabilities are directory-listed — plans ask for them.

Provider FAQ

The questions every group asks us

Does joining cost anything, now or later?

No. Never. Our independence commitment is contractual: ICMS is paid by health plans for delegated administration, and we do not accept money from providers in any form. If anyone ever asks you to pay to be in this network, it isn't us.

Does joining guarantee me authorizations or referrals?

No — and be wary of any network that implies otherwise. Participation gives you a verified credentialing file, published standards, and analyst-level review. Authorization decisions are always based on medical necessity under the applicable coverage policy.

Is this exclusive? Can I stay in other networks and plan panels?

Completely non-exclusive, in both directions. You keep every plan contract and network relationship you have. You can leave ICMS's network without cause with notice.

What do you actually need from my organization?

Credentialing consent, a current staff roster (BCBA/BCaBA/RBT) you keep updated, adherence to the documentation standards manual, and timely notice of certification or enrollment changes. That's the substance of the agreement.

Who reviews my authorization requests?

A BCBA — always. BCaBA reviewers work under BCBA supervision consistent with BACB requirements, and adverse determinations are co-signed by a licensed medical director as plan contracts and 42 CFR §438.210 require.

Will an algorithm review or deny my authorization requests?

No. We use AI tools to check submissions for completeness and to organize documentation — which means fewer bounce-backs for you — but every clinical determination is made by a BCBA, the program is led by BCBA-D/BCBA clinicians, and adverse determinations are co-signed by a licensed medical director. No AI system at ICMS generates or recommends denials.

Technology

AI-assisted. Clinician-decided.

ICMS builds modern AI models into its operations the way a good clinician uses an instrument: to see more, sooner. But instruments don't make clinical judgments — certified professionals do. That line is bright, contractual, and non-negotiable.

What our AI tools do

  • Check intake packages for completeness against Rule 59G-4.125 — flagging missing CDE elements or instruments before a human minute is spent
  • Organize and summarize clinical documentation so reviewers start with the full picture, not a paper chase
  • Surface billing-pattern anomalies, impossible-hours signals, and EVV mismatches for payment integrity analysts to investigate
  • Route and prioritize queues so urgent cases reach a reviewer faster

What only humans decide

  • Every utilization management determination is made by a certified behavior analyst — no exceptions, no auto-decisions
  • The UM program is designed and led by BCBA-D and BCBA clinicians, with inter-rater reliability oversight
  • Adverse determinations are co-signed by a licensed medical director, consistent with 42 CFR §438.210 and plan contracts
  • No algorithm ever generates, recommends, or triggers a denial — AI outputs are inputs to human judgment, never substitutes for it
Our AI governance commitment: human-in-the-loop by design, full audit trails on every AI-assisted step, and alignment with emerging CMS and state guidance on the use of algorithms in utilization management. Plans get the efficiency of modern tooling with none of the algorithmic-denial exposure.
For health plans

The ABA management layer your plan inherited a need for

With SMMC 3.0 (February 2025), Florida's nine MMA plans took over authorization, network, and payment for Behavior Analysis. ICMS provides the four delegable functions of that benefit — under one delegation agreement, structured for 42 CFR §438.230 oversight, and clinically led by certified behavior analysts.

$72M+recovered by AHCA in improper Medicaid payments, FY 2024-2025
893behavior analysts blocked from enrollment — the largest rejected category
~3,000active Medicaid fraud cases in a single fiscal year
UM

Utilization Management

Prior and concurrent authorization under Rule 59G-4.125: CDE verification, Vineland-3/BASC-3, six-month cycles. AI-assisted intake and completeness checks; every determination made by a BCBA and adverse decisions co-signed by a licensed medical director.

CR

Delegated Credentialing

Primary source verification and cyclical re-credentialing to NCQA CR standards, across the ABA provider base plans inherited with the carve-in.

CM

Case Management

Continuity of care, IEP/504 school coordination, and documented EPSDT compliance for members under 21.

PI

Payment Integrity

Pre-pay review of high-risk claims, post-pay audit, billing-pattern analytics, EVV cross-checks. Flat fees plus quality bonuses — never commissions on denials.

Generalist review — the status quo

  • Reviewers with no behavior-analytic training
  • Behavior plan quality never actually assessed
  • Silent over-authorization drives the trend
  • Weak denials overturned on appeal
  • FWA caught late — post-pay or by tip-off

ICMS — BCBA-centric UM

  • Every request reviewed by a BCBA
  • Analyst-to-analyst peer-to-peer before any denial
  • Medical necessity separated from inflated hours — defensible savings
  • A standards-based, pre-credentialed provider network, activatable on delegation
  • Clinical rigor as the first line of FWA detection
NCQA UM / CR

Policies, files, and UM committee designed on NCQA standards; URAC HUM accreditation in progress.

42 CFR §438.230 / §438.210

Delegation agreement, reporting, annual audit, clinically appropriate adverse determinations.

HIPAA + FIPA

BAAs, security risk assessment, encryption, incident response for pediatric PHI at scale.

BACB Ethics + AI Governance

Reviewer pay never depends on denials. AI is human-in-the-loop with full audit trails — no algorithmic determinations.

Request a working session

A measurable 6-month pilot: fee-per-review, no minimums, contracted metrics, scale decision at month six.

Join the network

Provider application

Five minutes, no fee. We use this information to run primary source verification (BACB, NPI, Florida Medicaid) — submitting is your consent for us to verify. Fields marked * are required.

Organization
Required.
9 digits (XX-XXXXXXX)EIN must be 9 digits, e.g. 12-3456789.
10 digits — we validate the NPI check digitInvalid NPI (fails the official check-digit test).
Leave blank if enrollment is pendingIf provided, must be 9 digits.
A group must have at least 1 BCBA.
BCBA roster — at least one required *
Primary contact
Required.
Enter a valid email.
Enter a valid phone (10+ digits).
Behavior analyst
Required.
Required.
Format 1-XX-XXXXX, or digits onlyEnter a valid BACB certificant number.
10 digits — we validate the NPI check digitInvalid NPI (fails the official check-digit test).
Leave blank if enrollment is pendingIf provided, must be 9 digits.
Enter a valid email.
Enter a valid phone (10+ digits).
Service profile
Required.
Attestation *
Se habla español — solicita el formulario en español

Submitting opens your email app with a pre-filled application report addressed to network@icmscare.com — press send to complete. No fee at any point. Your data is used solely for credentialing verification and network administration; see our independence commitment above.

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