On October 7, 2025, The ABA Coding Coalition, in collaboration with the ABAI Billing Codes Commission, announced that its recent code change application to the American Medical Association (AMA) CPT® Editorial Panel was officially approved during the Panel’s September 2025 meeting.
The ABA Coding Coalition – composed of Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, Autism Speaks, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, and Council of Autism Service Providers – has worked closely with the AMA to ensure that coding for adaptive behavior services accurately reflects current clinical and billing practices within applied behavior analysis.
According to the CPT Panel’s public action memorandum, the following updates were approved for the adaptive behavior services code set:
- Addition of six new CPT codes
- Revision of existing codes 97151–97158
- Updated guidelines surrounding the use of the ABA code set
- Deletion of the existing T codes
While the specific wording and details of the changes remain confidential under the AMA’s CPT Confidentiality Agreement, the Coalition confirmed that the revisions will appear in the 2027 CPT® Professional Code Book, scheduled for publication in late 2026.
The new code set will take effect January 1, 2027. The ABA Coding Coalition stated that detailed information will be distributed to providers and payers as soon as the AMA releases the finalized code language.
These updates represent another milestone in aligning ABA service coding with best practices and ensuring clarity for clinicians, payers, and policy makers alike.
For official updates, visit the ABA Coding Coalition website.