Motivity is proud to welcome Micah Friddle as the newest member of its Scientific Advisory Board. Micah serves as VP of Payer Strategy at Blue Gems ABA and also brings deep payer-side experience from his time supervising behavioral health utilization management at Centene Corporation, where he oversaw ABA authorizations at a national scale.
He brings a perspective no other board member has: someone who has practiced ABA, evaluated its quality from the outside, reviewed authorizations inside a national health plan, and now leads payer strategy directly within a growing multi-site practice.
Why Micah
Most conversations about ABA technology happen between providers and software companies. The payor perspective is rarely in the room when product decisions are made, even though payor requirements shape how providers document, bill, and demonstrate clinical necessity every single day. Micah closes that gap.
Micah spent three years at the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE), where he rose to Director of Accreditation overseeing a team of clinical evaluators conducting quality assurance reviews of ABA organizations worldwide. Before that, he co-owned and operated his own ABA practice for six years, handling everything from clinical services to insurance authorizations and billing. And before that, he was a behavior analyst delivering direct care to children with autism and developmental disabilities across home, school, and community settings.
That trajectory means Micah has sat in many chairs: the clinician delivering care, the practice owner managing billing and compliance, the accreditation evaluator reviewing quality from the outside, the payer insider making utilization decisions, and now the executive shaping payer relationships. He knows what clean documentation looks like to health plans and what authorization gaps cost a growing practice.
As payor scrutiny increases and audit readiness becomes a baseline expectation for ABA practices of every size, Micah's guidance will help ensure Motivity's platform reflects how authorization, documentation, and billing workflows need to function to satisfy both clinical standards and payor requirements.
What Motivity's Scientific Advisory Board Does
Motivity’s Scientific Advisory Board brings together leaders across clinical, operational, and innovation domains. Members provide strategic feedback on product direction, share insight on industry trends and payor dynamics, and help keep Motivity aligned with how ABA is practiced.
The role is about perspective, challenge, and guidance. Members participate in semi-annual meetings, focused workgroups, and ongoing dialogue that shapes priorities and informs Motivity's roadmap.
Looking Ahead
Micah shared his perspective on what providers misunderstand about the payor side, what he has learned from seeing ABA through three different lenses, and what he hopes this board accomplishes for the field in an interview with us.
Motivity's Scientific Advisory Board will continue growing with members who represent the full breadth of the field: clinical leaders, operational experts, and specialists in areas like payor relations and emerging technology. Every seat is intentional.
