30 Sep Understanding Your Medicaid Benefit for Transportation
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation With MedTran Spokane
Utilizing non-emergency medical transportation through Medicaid is your right as an enrollee. Let’s talk about how to get the most out of this benefit.
Emergency Versus Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
When considering medically related transportation, it is important to define the difference between emergency transportation and non-emergency transportation. Emergency medical transportation occurs as a result of an event that puts the health and life of someone at risk without immediate treatment. These events would justify a call to emergency medical services and potentially resulting in a ride in an ambulance to the emergency department of your local hospital. Alternatively, non-emergency medical transportation is utilized in situations when a patient’s health and life isn’t immediately at risk and is also referred to as NEMT.
To learn more about emergency medical transportation parameters, refer to these guidelines from CMS Emergency medical transportation .
NEMT Rides through Medicaid
Federal regulations say that Medicaid enrollees can get rides to and from providers when necessary. Typically, Medicaid covers rides for eligible individuals to and from the doctor’s office, the hospital, or another medical office, mental health appointment, dental procedure, and other Medicaid-approved care. This coverage is called “non-emergency medical transportation,” because it does not involve a medical emergency. Medicaid may give you a ride if you:
- do not have a car that works
- do not have a driver’s license
- have a physical or mental disability or are unable to travel or wait for a ride alone (Coverage for these rides may be different depending on your individual situation and needs. You may need to get your State Medicaid agency’s approval to qualify for a ride).
When an individual enrolls in Medicaid, they will instructions about when a ride is necessary and how and when you can schedule a ride. Generally, the enrolled individual may have to call a Medicaid caseworker who should:
- Help determine an immediate need for care;
- Verify eligibility for Medicaid;
- Verify the appointment with a Medicaid provider;
- Ensure there is no other reasonable way to make it to the appointment; and
- Decide what type of ride Medicaid can be given for a particular situation.
To learn more about non-emergency medical transportation parameters, refer to these guidelines from CMS non-emergency medical transportation.
Medicaid Covered NEMT with MedTran Spokane
When a Medicaid enrollee needs a wheelchair accessible ride for non-emergency medical appointments in the greater Spokane area, the best choice is MedTran. Our fully modified vans accommodate up to two wheelchairs at a time and has one of the largest fleets in the region. MedTran Spokane is able to provide short wait times and reliable ride availability.
MedTran Spokane is a family-owned, local business dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to individuals who need reliable transportation. Some examples of Medicaid-approved rides include:
- Routine medical/doctor’s appointments
- Medical procedures requiring sedation
- Oral and cosmetic surgery
- Optometry procedures with eye dilation
- Mental health appointments
When booking a non-emergent ride with MedTran, Medicaid enrollees must schedule through their Medicaid broker. MedTran is not able to book rides directly for Medicaid-billed rides.
Book your ride today and experience the difference with MedTran Spokane.