The 2027 ABA CPT Codes Are Out. 97155 Splits in Two, and BCBAs Can Finally Bill for Indirect Work. \| StreamABA [ ![StreamABA](https://streamaba.com/build/assets/logo-dark-Bta4omRy.svg) ](/) [Home](https://streamaba.com) [Blog](https://streamaba.com/blog) [ Log in ](https://streamaba.com/login) [ Goto the Live Demo ](#get-started) [Home](https://streamaba.com) [Blog](https://streamaba.com/blog) [Log in](https://streamaba.com/login) [ Goto the Live Demo ](#get-started) 1. [Blog](https://streamaba.com/blog) 2. / 3. The 2027 ABA CPT Codes Are Out. 97155 Splits in Two, and BCBAs Can Finally Bill for Indirect Work. billing The 2027 ABA CPT Codes Are Out. 97155 Splits in Two, and BCBAs Can Finally Bill for Indirect Work. ==================================================================================================== 2027 ABA CPT codes explained: 97148, 97149, 97159, 97160, 97173, and 97180, the 97155 split, deletion of 0362T and 0373T, the 97180 weekly reporting rule, and a checklist for authorizations that cross January 1, 2027. 7 min read October 1, 2026 StreamABA Team Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstreamaba.com%2Fblog%2F2026%2F10%2F2027-aba-cpt-codes-97173-97180-97155-split&text=The+2027+ABA+CPT+Codes+Are+Out.+97155+Splits+in+Two%2C+and+BCBAs+Can+Finally+Bill+for+Indirect+Work.) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstreamaba.com%2Fblog%2F2026%2F10%2F2027-aba-cpt-codes-97173-97180-97155-split) [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fstreamaba.com%2Fblog%2F2026%2F10%2F2027-aba-cpt-codes-97173-97180-97155-split) billing cpt-codes compliance industry-news authorizations ![](/images/blog/2026/10/2027-aba-cpt-codes-97173-97180-97155-split.jpg) The Wait Is Over ---------------- In February we wrote that [the biggest ABA billing update in years](/blog/2026/02/aba-2027-cpt-code-changes) was coming, but that the code numbers were confidential until the AMA published them. They’re public now. The AMA released the CPT 2027 code set in September. It has 299 new codes, and according to the ABA Coding Coalition, **six of them belong to the adaptive behavior services code set**. On September 11, the Coalition (APBA, Autism Speaks, the BACB, and CASP, with the ABAI Billing Codes Commission) published a crosswalk mapping the 2019 codes to the 2027 ones. Everything below takes effect for dates of service on or after **January 1, 2027**. That’s three months away, and many authorizations you request this fall will cover dates on both sides of it. The Six New Codes ----------------- CodeWhat it coversReplaces**97148**Supporting assessment of harmful behavior; each 15 minutes of technician time face-to-face with the patient0362T**+97149**Add-on to 97148 for each additional technician (the summed time of technicians 3 through 5)0362T (multi-technician)**97159**Adaptive behavior treatment of harmful behavior; each 15 minutes of technician time, delivered by 2 technicians in an environment customized to the patient’s behavior0373T**+97160**Add-on to 97159 for each additional technician (no more than 5 total)0373T (multi-technician)**97173**Adaptive behavior treatment with analysis by a physician or other QHP, face-to-face with one patient; each 15 minutesQHP treating alone, previously billed as 97155**97180**Adaptive behavior non-face-to-face services personally performed by a physician or other QHP; each 15 minutesNothing. This work wasn’t separately billable before. Both Category III T codes, **0362T and 0373T, are permanently deleted.** The Coalition’s cover letter says so, and CMS’s proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule confirms the CPT Editorial Panel deleted them. Change 1: 97155 Splits in Two ----------------------------- This is the change that touches the most claims. Since 2019, 97155 has covered two different activities: a BCBA directing a technician with the client present, and a BCBA treating the client directly with no technician. In 2027 those separate: - **97155** becomes “adaptive behavior **direction of technician** with analysis” by a physician or other QHP, face-to-face with a patient. It now means one thing: the QHP directing a technician while the client is there. - **97173** is the new code for a QHP **treating the patient directly**, without a technician. What this means in practice: - **BCBA-only sessions move to 97173.** If your BCBAs deliver direct treatment on their own (common in small practices, in clinics short on RBTs, or with older clients), those sessions stop being 97155 on January 1. - **Your authorizations need the right code.** An authorization approved for 97155 hours won’t automatically cover 97173 hours. If a client’s plan includes BCBA-delivered treatment, request 97173 units for any period that runs into 2027. - **97155 gets easier to audit.** Supervision ratio calculations already compare 97155 to 97153 (Massachusetts is [recouping payments on exactly that math](/blog/2026/09/masshealth-aba-supervision-ratio-recoupment-lawsuit)). Once solo treatment leaves 97155, the ratio shows supervision more accurately, so expect payers to lean on it harder. The wording of 97156, 97157, and 97158 also changes. Each now reads “with analysis” in place of the old protocol modification language. The codes themselves stay. Change 2: 97180 Pays for the Work Nobody Saw -------------------------------------------- BCBAs have always spent hours on work the client never sees: analyzing data, rewriting programs, training technicians on protocol changes. Under the 2019 set, the crosswalk notes, directing technicians without the client present “was not separately reportable.” 97180 changes that. Its descriptor covers non-face-to-face services **personally performed** by a physician or QHP, with any of these elements: - Review and analysis of data and session notes on patient treatment targets - Clinical decision-making about modifying treatment targets, goals, or protocols, and making those changes - Clinical decision-making about the need for more assessment, and developing or modifying assessment protocols - Developing a discharge or transition plan - Training technicians on, or reviewing with them, treatment targets and revised assessment or treatment protocols **The reporting rule is unusual.** The Coalition’s crosswalk says 97180 “may be reported once per week by summing the time spent on non-face-to-face services during the preceding seven days.” That means one line per week, with the week’s time summed. Not one line per sitting. **The client-present line is clear.** The crosswalk says: “If the QHP is directing a technician or caregiver with the client present, report using the 97155.” Without the client, it’s 97180. **Who can bill it:** the crosswalk’s QHP definition includes licensed behavior analysts, licensed assistant behavior analysts, BCBA-Ds, BCBAs, and BCaBAs, subject to payer and state rules. Two warnings before anyone budgets for new revenue: 1. **Payers decide whether they’ll pay for it.** A CPT code existing doesn’t mean coverage. Many payers didn’t reimburse indirect time at all under the old set, and some will be slow to cover 97180. 2. **Documentation has to stand on its own.** Weekly time with no client present is exactly the kind of line an auditor samples. Each block of time needs a dated record of what was done, for which client, and by whom. Change 3: Harmful Behavior Codes Become Technician Codes -------------------------------------------------------- 0362T and 0373T were built around an on-site QHP administering the service with two or more technicians. The 2027 replacements are written around **technician time**: - **97148 and 97159** bill per 15 minutes of technician time, delivered by two technicians. - **+97149 and +97160** are add-on codes for technicians three through five. They’re never billed alone, always with their primary code. - **The QHP must be on site but not necessarily in the room.** The crosswalk defines “on site” as “immediately available and interruptible,” and says the requirement may be met by telehealth where medically necessary and clinically appropriate, subject to each payer’s policy. - **A QHP who is present bills their own time as 97155.** The crosswalk says: “If the QHP is present, their time is separately reported using 97155.” If you run a severe-behavior program, this changes how you staff and authorize it. Count technicians per session, request add-on units separately, and make sure the on-site QHP’s time is documented as 97155 when they’re in the room. What We Don’t Know Yet ---------------------- The codes are final. Several things around them aren’t: - **Medicare pricing.** CMS extended contractor pricing through 2027, so there’s no national Medicare rate for any of the 14 adaptive behavior codes. Medicaid and commercial payers set their own rates, and most ABA revenue comes from them. - **Telehealth.** CMS’s proposed 2027 telehealth list keeps 97151 through 97158 but doesn’t list any of the six new codes. The final rule is expected around November 1. - **Unit limits.** CMS hasn’t published medically unlikely edit (MUE) values or NCCI pair edits for the new codes. The January 2027 file is expected around December 1. - **Payer crosswalks for open authorizations.** Neither CMS nor the Coalition says how an authorization approved for 0373T or 97155 should carry over into 2027. That’s payer by payer. - **Supplemental guidance.** The Coalition’s cover letter promises an updated guidance article, model coverage policy, and FAQs. As of this writing, the resources posted on abacodes.org are still the 2019 to 2022 versions. Your 90-Day Checklist --------------------- **1. Find every authorization that crosses January 1.**Any authorization running from fall 2026 into 2027 that includes 97155, 0362T, or 0373T needs a decision. Ask each payer in writing how they want 2027 dates of service authorized: a new request, an amendment, or an automatic crosswalk. **2. Split your 97155 hours.**For each client, estimate how much of the BCBA’s 97155 time is directing a technician and how much is treating the client alone. Request 97173 units for the solo portion on any period that touches 2027. **3. Decide your 97180 policy.**Check which payers will reimburse 97180. For those that will, define what counts, how BCBAs record it, and who signs off on the weekly total. For those that won’t, keep documenting the work anyway. It still supports medical necessity. **4. Restructure severe-behavior authorizations.**Map 0362T and 0373T clients to 97148 and 97159, request add-on units for third through fifth technicians where needed, and confirm each payer’s on-site QHP rules, including telehealth. **5. Load fee schedules early.**As payers publish 2027 rates, enter the new codes with a January 1, 2027 effective date. Give 0362T and 0373T an end date of December 31, 2026, so December sessions bill correctly in January while 2027 sessions can’t use them. **6. Train BCBAs before January, not after.**The 97155/97173 distinction is decided when the session is scheduled, not when the claim goes out. A December training is cheaper than a quarter of denials. **7. Watch three dates.**The Medicare final rule (around November 1), the CMS MUE and NCCI release (around December 1), and your payers’ 2027 coding notices (usually Q4). Where Software Fits ------------------- The 2027 change is a date problem as much as a coding problem. The same client can need 97155 on December 31 and 97173 on January 2. In StreamABA, practices configure service codes and fee schedules themselves, with effective dates, so 2027 codes and rates can be entered before January without waiting on a vendor release. The payer rules engine handles per-payer modifiers, MUE limits, and NCCI edits, and authorization tracking shows units by code against what each payer approved. As payers publish their 2027 policies, those rules can be updated payer by payer. We’ll follow up when CMS publishes the final rule and the January MUE values. --- Planning your 2027 authorization requests and want to talk through the crosswalk? Reach out at **hello@streamaba.com**. Follow us on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/stream-aba) and [X](https://x.com/streamaba) for more industry updates. Sources ------- - [ABA Coding Coalition: 2027 CPT Code Crosswalk and cover letter (September 11, 2026)](https://abacodes.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2027-CPT-Code-Crosswalk.pdf) - [ABA Coding Coalition: Adaptive behavior codes and 2027 descriptors](https://abacodes.org/codes/) - [ABA Coding Coalition: AMA Releases 2027 CPT Code Set (September 10, 2026)](https://abacodes.org/ama-releases-2027-cpt-code-set/) - [American Medical Association: AMA releases CPT 2027 code set](https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-releases-cpt-2027-code-set) - [Federal Register: CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, CMS-1848-P (July 16, 2026)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/16/2026-14327) - [ABA Coding Coalition: CMS Releases Proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule](https://abacodes.org/cms-releases-proposed-2027-medicare-physician-fee-schedule-mpfs/) [ All posts ](https://streamaba.com/blog) ![]() Related posts ------------- [Browse all posts](https://streamaba.com/blog) - [ ![](/images/blog/2026/02/aba-2027-cpt-code-changes.jpg) billing ### 2027 ABA CPT Code Overhaul: What's Changing and Why StreamABA Is Ready The biggest update to ABA billing codes in years takes effect January 1, 2027. 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