Florida is currently transitioning the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) Health Plan from Sunshine Health to Molina Healthcare, with the statewide change scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2026.

This major transition will directly affect Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers and families throughout Florida. Molina will become the sole health plan responsible for administering the CMS program, which provides more than $5 billion in services to over 113,000 children with complex medical needs.

Existing provider contracts with Sunshine State Health Plan will not automatically transfer to Molina, meaning ABA agencies must complete a separate contracting process with Molina to continue serving CMS members after the continuity-of-care period ends.

Molina has also announced that providers requesting Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluations or ABA services must obtain a referral from the member’s Primary Care Physician before services begin.

The referral must be submitted with the initial prior authorization request.