Judge Order's Florida's Medicaid to Cover ABA

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Florida's Medicaid program must cover applied behavioral analysis for children who are diagnosed with autism and related disorders, a federal judge in Miami ruled Monday morning.

An estimated 8,500 Florida children on Medicaid are identified now as having full-blown autism or related conditions falling under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder. The decision will benefit them, along with other children diagnosed with those disorders in the future who need behavioral health therapy.

"U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard called the state's decision not to cover ABA therapy "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, both in its process and in its conclusion.