Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
There's no single national NEMT phone number. Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation is arranged through your state Medicaid agency or a regional broker like Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, or SafeRide, each with its own number by state and sometimes by county. Riders call their broker; owner-operators call the same broker plus their state Medicaid transportation unit to get credentialed.
Is there one national non-emergency medical transportation phone number?
No. There's no single 800-number that connects every Medicaid rider or every driver to NEMT services nationwide. Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a state-administered Medicaid benefit, and each state either runs it in-house or contracts it out to a regional broker. That means the phone number a rider in Ohio calls to book a ride to dialysis is completely different from the number a rider in Texas or Florida calls. Federal law requires states to make NEMT available to Medicaid enrollees who have no other way to get to a covered medical service. The regulation sits at 42 CFR 431.53, which says state Medicaid plans must "ensure necessary transportation for beneficiaries to and from providers" [1]. States get wide latitude in how they do that, so the phone number, the broker, and even the name of the benefit vary a lot state to state. If you're a rider trying to book a trip, the fastest way to find your number is to search "[your state] Medicaid non-emergency transportation" plus your state's name, or call your Medicaid managed care plan's member services line and ask them to transfer you or give you the broker's number directly. If you're an owner-operator trying to get credentialed as a transportation provider, you need two numbers: your state Medicaid transportation unit, and the broker(s) operating in your service area. See our state-by-state medical transportation overview for a starting list of state contacts.
What is non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT)?
Non-emergency medical transportation is transportation to and from Medicaid-covered medical appointments for enrollees who have no other means of getting there and whose condition doesn't require an ambulance. It covers things like dialysis, chemotherapy, physical therapy, mental health appointments, and routine primary care visits. It does not cover 911 emergency responses. Medicaid.gov describes NEMT as part of states' obligation to guarantee transportation to and from providers, calling it a service that ensures "eligible individuals have access to health care by making sure their transportation isn't a barrier" to receiving Medicaid-covered services [2]. The benefit typically covers a range of vehicle types depending on the rider's medical need: ambulatory sedans, wheelchair-accessible vans, and in rural areas sometimes mileage reimbursement for a friend or family member who drives. NEMT is different from emergency medical transport, which involves ambulances responding to acute or life-threatening situations and billed separately under a different Medicaid benefit category. If you're researching the broader category, our nemt guide and emergency medical transport guide break down that distinction in more detail. For the general public-facing explanation, non emergency medical transportation covers eligibility basics.
How do I find my state's NEMT phone number as a rider?
Start with your state Medicaid agency's transportation unit page, or call your Medicaid managed care organization's member services number, which is printed on your insurance card. Most states either run NEMT through a single statewide broker or split the state into regions with different brokers, so the number depends on where you live, more than what state you're in. The four brokers you'll run into most often nationally are Modivcare, MTM (Medical Transportation Management), Access2Care, and SafeRide Health. Each operates in different states and sometimes different regions within the same state. For example, a rider in one county might book through Modivcare while a rider two counties over, under a different managed care plan, books through MTM. That's why searching for one universal number wastes time. It genuinely does not exist. If you can't find the number online, call 2-1-1 (the United Way's free referral line, active in most states) or ask your doctor's office. Front desk staff at dialysis centers and oncology clinics usually have the local broker's number memorized because they deal with it daily.
Does Medicaid cover ambulance rides?
Yes, Medicaid covers ambulance transportation when it's medically necessary, but it's billed and authorized differently than routine NEMT. Ambulance transport (emergency or non-emergency) falls under a separate Medicaid benefit category with its own prior authorization rules, and coverage details vary by state. Medicaid.gov's transportation guidance notes that non-emergency transportation is meant for beneficiaries who need to get to a covered service but don't require ambulance-level care [2]. If a rider's medical condition requires monitoring, oxygen, or a stretcher during transit, that trip usually gets billed as non-emergency ambulance transport rather than routine NEMT, and it often needs a physician's certification of medical necessity attached to the claim. Check with your state Medicaid agency's transportation unit for the specific prior authorization form and threshold, since some states require certification before the trip and others allow it after.
Does Medicare cover medical transportation?
Medicare's coverage of medical transportation is much narrower than Medicaid's. Original Medicare Part B covers ambulance services when other transportation would endanger your health, under the ambulance services benefit at 42 CFR 410.40 [3], but it generally does not cover routine non-emergency rides to a doctor's office the way Medicaid NEMT does. There's a narrow exception: Medicare Part B can cover non-emergency ambulance transportation for beneficiaries who need it on a repetitive basis, such as dialysis patients, if a physician certifies in writing that the transport is medically necessary and other means of transportation would be unsafe. The regulation describes this as requiring "a written order from the beneficiary's attending physician certifying that the medical necessity requirements... are met" for repetitive non-emergency ambulance services [3]. Outside of that ambulance-specific exception, Medicare Advantage plans sometimes offer supplemental transportation benefits as an extra perk, but that varies plan to plan and isn't guaranteed. If you're dual-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, your NEMT benefit almost always comes through the Medicaid side, not Medicare.
How do I start a non-emergency medical transportation business?
Starting an NEMT business means stacking three separate approval processes on top of each other: your state business and vehicle licensing, your state Medicaid provider enrollment, and broker credentialing with whichever companies manage rides in your area. None of these happen automatically from the others, and skipping steps is the single biggest reason new operators stall out for months. Here's the rough sequence most owner-operators follow: 1. Form your business entity (LLC is common) and get an EIN from the IRS. 2. Get commercial auto insurance for your wheelchair van; confirm with your state and broker what minimum liability limits they require, since these vary widely and change over time. 3. Register your vehicle for commercial/livery use if your state requires it, and complete any state vehicle inspection specific to wheelchair-accessible vehicles. 4. Enroll as a Medicaid transportation provider with your state Medicaid agency. This is a separate process from broker credentialing and some states require it before a broker will even look at your application. 5. Apply for credentialing with the broker(s) operating in your region (Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, SafeRide, or a state-run alternative). This usually means a background check, vehicle inspection, driver qualification file, and insurance certificate on file. 6. Complete any required driver training, such as passenger assistance, wheelchair securement, or defensive driving, depending on what your state and broker mandate. Every one of these steps has state-specific and broker-specific paperwork, and requirements change, so confirm current forms and fees with your state Medicaid agency and your target broker before you spend money on vehicles or insurance. Our nemt-transportation guide walks through the credentialing paperwork in more depth.
How do you start a medical transportation business with just one van?
Yes, you can start with a single wheelchair van, and most owner-operators do exactly that. Brokers and state Medicaid programs generally credential individual owner-operators, more than fleets, though the exact minimum requirements (insurance limits, vehicle age caps, ramp or lift specifications) vary by state and by broker. The practical constraint with one van isn't eligibility, it's scheduling. A single vehicle can only be in one place at a time, so brokers may cap how many trips they route to you or require you to decline trips you can't cover, which affects how reliable your average weekly workload looks to the broker's dispatch system. Some new operators start with one van to prove they can pass credentialing and maintain a clean safety record, then add a second vehicle or driver once they understand the broker's dispatch patterns in their specific region. Things to nail down before you buy the van: your state's minimum insurance requirements for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, the broker's vehicle age and mileage limits, and whether your state requires a separate accessible-vehicle inspection beyond the standard DMV inspection. Getting these confirmed before purchase saves you from buying a van that fails credentialing on a technicality.
What does NEMT provider enrollment with the state Medicaid agency actually involve?
State Medicaid provider enrollment is the process of getting your business officially recognized as a Medicaid transportation provider, separate from and usually required before broker credentialing. It typically involves an application through the state's Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) portal, an NPI number in many states, proof of insurance, vehicle registration, and sometimes a site visit or fingerprint-based background check. The federal rule underpinning this is 42 CFR 431.53, which puts the burden on the state Medicaid agency to guarantee transportation access [1], and states implement that obligation through their own provider enrollment rules, which is why the process looks different in every state. Some states enroll transportation providers directly. Others delegate almost the entire credentialing function to their contracted broker, so "state enrollment" in those states might just mean registering as a Medicaid provider on paper while the broker handles the operational vetting. Because this varies so much, the honest answer is: confirm the exact enrollment path with your specific state Medicaid transportation unit before you assume you know the process from a forum post or a friend in another state. A step that's a five-minute online form in one state can be a multi-week fingerprinting and background check process in another.
How does broker credentialing differ from state Medicaid enrollment?
| State Medicaid enrollment | State Medicaid agency | Business legitimacy, NPI, insurance, sometimes vehicle registration | Medicaid provider number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broker credentialing | Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, SafeRide, others | Driver background, vehicle inspection, training, insurance certs | Active status in broker's dispatch system | Because credentialing standards and fees change and differ by state and broker, treat any specific dollar figure or timeline you read online as a starting point, not a guarantee, and confirm directly with the broker and your state Medicaid agency before budgeting. If you want a structured way to track every document both processes require, the Launch Kit is a one-time $199 packet built around state and broker paperwork checklists, not a shortcut around the actual approval process. |
Broker credentialing is the separate vetting process run by Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, SafeRide, or another regional broker; it determines whether you get dispatched trips through their platform, and it's not the same as being a Medicaid-enrolled provider. You can be fully enrolled with your state Medicaid agency and still get rejected or delayed by a broker's own credentialing standards, which are typically stricter and more detailed. Broker credentialing generally checks: driver background checks (often including sex offender registry and motor vehicle record checks), vehicle inspection against the broker's own accessibility and age standards, insurance certificates naming the broker in some cases, driver training completion, and sometimes drug testing. Each broker runs its own portal and paperwork, so if you plan to work with more than one broker (common in areas where Medicaid managed care plans split by broker), you'll be doing this process multiple times with different requirements each time. | Process | Who runs it | What it checks | Typical result |
What phone numbers do NEMT owner-operators actually need?
As an owner-operator, you need at least three categories of contacts, not one: your state Medicaid transportation unit, each broker operating in your service area, and your state's provider enrollment help desk if it's separate from the transportation unit. Save all of them before you start the application process, because you'll be calling repeatedly with document questions. A practical way to organize this: keep a simple contact sheet with the broker name, the region or county it covers, the credentialing contact number, and the state Medicaid transportation unit number, updated whenever you get transferred to a new contact or find a number has changed. Broker call centers route differently for riders versus providers, so if you call a rider-facing 800 number asking about credentialing, expect to get transferred at least once. Ask for the "provider relations" or "transportation provider credentialing" department specifically; that phrasing gets you routed faster than just saying you want to become a driver.
How is NEMT different from an ambulance service, in terms of licensing?
NEMT vehicles (wheelchair vans, accessible sedans) generally don't require the same EMS licensure that ambulances do, because NEMT doesn't provide medical care during transport, it just provides the ride. Ambulance services, by contrast, are usually licensed through the state's EMS or health department and staffed by certified EMTs or paramedics. This distinction matters for owner-operators because it means NEMT credentialing focuses on driver background, vehicle accessibility equipment (ramps, lifts, wheelchair securement), and insurance, rather than clinical licensure. If you're deciding whether NEMT or ambulance transport is the right business to start, NEMT has a lower clinical licensing bar but still requires passing background checks, vehicle standards, and both state and broker credentialing. Our non emergency medical transportation services guide covers the vehicle and service-type distinctions in more depth.
Frequently asked questions
What is the phone number for non-emergency medical transportation?
There isn't one universal number. Your NEMT phone number depends on your state and, in many states, the broker (Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, SafeRide, or another) assigned to your county or Medicaid managed care plan. Check your Medicaid card, call your managed care plan's member services line, or search your state Medicaid agency's transportation page for the correct regional number.
What is non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT)?
NEMT is Medicaid-covered transportation to and from covered medical appointments for enrollees who have no other way to get there and don't need ambulance-level care. It covers dialysis, therapy, mental health visits, and routine appointments, using wheelchair vans, accessible sedans, or sometimes mileage reimbursement, under the federal transportation guarantee at 42 CFR 431.53.
Does Medicaid cover ambulance rides?
Yes, when medically necessary, but ambulance transport is billed under a separate Medicaid benefit category from routine NEMT and often requires prior authorization or a physician's medical necessity certification. Rules and thresholds vary by state, so confirm the exact prior authorization process with your state Medicaid agency's transportation unit.
Does Medicare cover medical transportation?
Medicare Part B covers ambulance transport when other transportation would endanger your health, and it can cover repetitive non-emergency ambulance trips (like dialysis) with a physician certification statement. It generally does not cover routine non-emergency rides to a doctor's office the way Medicaid NEMT does, though some Medicare Advantage plans offer limited transportation as a supplemental benefit.
How do I start a NEMT business?
Form a business entity, get commercial auto insurance for a wheelchair van, register the vehicle for commercial use if required, enroll as a Medicaid provider with your state, then get credentialed with the broker(s) operating in your area (Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, SafeRide, or others). Confirm exact steps and order with your state Medicaid transportation unit since requirements vary by state.
How do you start a medical transportation business?
Start by separating the three approvals you need: state business/vehicle licensing, state Medicaid provider enrollment, and broker credentialing. Each has its own paperwork and timeline. Most new operators buy or lease one accessible vehicle first, get it insured and inspected, then work through state enrollment before applying to individual brokers.
Can I start a NEMT business with just one van?
Yes. Brokers and state Medicaid programs generally credential individual owner-operators with a single vehicle, though minimum insurance limits, vehicle age caps, and equipment specs vary by state and broker. The main practical limit with one van is that you can only cover one trip at a time, which affects how brokers route work to you.
What is the difference between NEMT and an ambulance?
NEMT provides transportation only, with no medical care during the ride, and is used for beneficiaries who don't need ambulance-level monitoring. Ambulances provide clinical care in transit, staffed by licensed EMTs or paramedics, and are billed and licensed under a completely separate state and Medicaid framework from NEMT.
Do all states use a broker for NEMT?
No. Some states manage NEMT directly through the state Medicaid agency, others contract it entirely to one or more regional brokers like Modivcare, MTM, Access2Care, or SafeRide, and some split the state by county or managed care plan. Confirm which model your state uses with its Medicaid transportation unit before starting credentialing.
How long does NEMT broker credentialing take?
There's no fixed national timeline; it depends on the broker, the completeness of your paperwork, and whether background checks or vehicle inspections need scheduling. Treat any specific number of days or weeks you read online as a rough estimate, and confirm expected processing time directly with the broker you're applying to.
Is NEMT provider enrollment the same everywhere?
No. States implement the federal transportation guarantee under 42 CFR 431.53 differently, so enrollment can mean a short online form in one state and a multi-step process with fingerprinting and site visits in another. Always confirm the current process with your specific state Medicaid transportation unit rather than assuming another state's process applies to you.
Who do I call if I can't reach my NEMT broker?
Try your Medicaid managed care plan's member services number first, since they can usually transfer you or provide the current broker contact. You can also call 2-1-1 for local referral help, or ask your medical provider's front desk, since clinics that see a lot of Medicaid patients usually have the local broker number on hand.
Sources
- eCFR, 42 CFR 431.53 Assurance of transportation: States must ensure necessary transportation for Medicaid beneficiaries to and from providers
- Medicaid.gov, Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: NEMT ensures Medicaid enrollees' transportation isn't a barrier to accessing covered health services
- eCFR, 42 CFR 410.40 Coverage of ambulance services: Medicare Part B covers ambulance services when other transport would endanger health, and covers repetitive non-emergency ambulance trips with a physician certification statement
- Medicaid.gov, Medicaid Managed Care: States contract with managed care organizations, which affects how NEMT brokers are assigned by plan or region
- eCFR, 42 CFR 431.51 Free choice of providers: Medicaid beneficiaries generally have a right to obtain covered services from any qualified provider, informing how states structure transportation access
- CMS, State Medicaid Director Letter on NEMT brokerage (SMD #13-006): CMS guidance describes how states may use brokers to arrange non-emergency medical transportation under Medicaid