Transportation Services
Medi-Cal offers transportation to and from appointments for services covered by Medi-Cal. This includes transportation to medical, dental, mental health, or substance use disorder appointments, and to pick up prescriptions and medical supplies.
There are two types of transportation for appointments:
- Nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) is transportation by ambulance, wheelchair van, or litter van for those who cannot use public or private transportation.
- Nonmedical transportation (NMT) is transportation by private or public vehicle for people who do not have another way to get to their appointment.
When requesting transportation, be sure to contact
DHCSNMT@dhcs.ca.gov as soon as you know you have
an appointment. If you have many appointments, you can also request transportation for those appointments.
How can I schedule Transportation?
Nonmedical Transportation (NMT)
Nonmedical Transportation (NMT) is available to people with full-scope Medi-Cal or who are pregnant, including to the end of the month in which the 365th day postpartum falls.
If you receive Medi-Cal through a managed care plan, contact
your plan’s member service department to request NMT. Beneficiaries will need to attest to their managed care plan that all other currently available resources have been reasonably exhausted.
If you receive Medi-Cal as a fee-for-service (FFS) member, you or a representative can email
DHCSNMT@dhcs.ca.gov requesting assistance with coordinating transportation. Please do NOT include personal information in your first email. DHCS staff will reply with a secure email asking for information about the appointment.
NOTE: Members or their representatives can contact providers directly to schedule transportation if they have their contact information.
Nonemergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
If you receive Medi-Cal through a managed care plan, please contact
your plan’s member service department to request nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT). You will need a prescription from a licensed provider.
If you have FFS Medi-Cal, please inform your medical provider. They must prescribe NEMT and email
DHCSNMT@dhcs.ca.gov in which DHCS staff will provide assistance contacting an approved NEMT provider and coordinating transportation to and/or from your appointment. Please do NOT include personal information in your first email. A DHCS representative will reply with a secure email asking for your information about the appointment.
Medi-Cal Transportation Providers
In FFS and managed care, licensed, professional medical transportation companies are able to provide NMT and NEMT. In addition, Medi-Cal managed care plans also contract with other transportation providers for these services.
How to become a NMT and NEMT transportation provider
Treatment Authorization Requests (TAR)
The
DHCS Treatment Authorization Request (TAR) site provides training. TAR forms, instructions for preparing and submitting, and information on the Appeals process.
If you need further assistance in submitting TARs - call the
Telephone Service Center at (800) 541-5555.
Billing and Eligibility
If you're a NMT or NEMT transport provider, and you have a billing or eligibility question, call the
Telephone Service Center at (800) 541-5555.
Resources
The following are resources and reference materials for beneficiaries and providers regarding Medi-Cal transportation services.
Contact Us
- For NMT Managed Care billing and eligibility questions:
- For NMT FFS billing questions:
- For NMT FFS eligibility and benefits questions:
