A Medi-Cal Plan Says Unenrolled ABA Groups Risk Termination After About October 29

Health Plan of San Joaquin and Mountain Valley Health Plan require ABA groups in their network to enroll in Medi-Cal through PAVE. The six-month grace period from their April 29 alert runs out this month.

On April 29, 2026, Health Plan of San Joaquin and Mountain Valley Health Plan told the ABA groups in their Medi-Cal network that they "must be Medi-Cal enrolled to receive reimbursement." The plan said the requirement "is already in effect" and gave a grace period: "Any ABA group who does not demonstrate efforts to get Medi-Cal enrolled within six (6) months of this alert are at risk of termination." Six months from April 29 is about October 29. That date is our arithmetic; the alert doesn't print one.

The turn: enrollment used to be the thing ABA groups couldn't do

For a long time, ABA groups in Medi-Cal managed care were credentialed by their plans without enrolling with the state. CalOptima Health's provider FAQ, dated January 2023 and still posted, answers the question "Do ABA groups and providers need to be enrolled with DHCS?" with: "No. ABA groups and their affiliated providers do not have a pathway for Medi-Cal enrollment." HPSJ/MVHP now makes enrollment a condition of payment, citing DHCS All Plan Letter 22-013.

Enrollment brings something else with it. California's new SB 874 requires every entity enrolled as a Medi-Cal provider that delivers BHT to run state and national background checks on patient-facing staff by July 1, 2027.

What the alert requires

  • Groups enroll through the DHCS PAVE portal.
  • "Any ABA group who has not completed their Medi-Cal enrollment at the time of re-credentialing are at risk of termination." That's a second deadline, and it varies by group.
  • "Licensed ABA providers who practice individually and not as part of a group contract must be Medi-Cal enrolled."

The limits

This is one plan's alert. The plan doesn't say what counts as "efforts" to enroll. We couldn't reach DHCS's own BHT enrollment pages to confirm when PAVE opened to ABA organizations, so we aren't stating a date for it. Other Medi-Cal plans haven't published the same requirement that we could find.

What you must know or do

  • Owners with an HPSJ or MVHP contract: check whether the group, and every licensed provider you contract individually, has a PAVE application on file. If not, start one this week and keep the submission confirmation.
  • Send that confirmation to your HPSJ/MVHP Provider Services Representative before October 29 and ask them to confirm it counts as "demonstrated efforts." Get the answer in writing.
  • Look up your next HPSJ/MVHP re-credentialing date. Enrollment has to be complete by then, not just started.
  • Owners with other Medi-Cal plans: ask each one in writing whether it will require PAVE enrollment for ABA groups, and by when.