DC Medicaid Transportation: How to Get a Ride

How DC Medicaid transportation works

The District’s Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) runs DC Medicaid. How a member gets a ride depends on how they are enrolled:

• Managed care plans. Most DC Medicaid members belong to a managed care plan, and each plan arranges its own rides through its own transportation vendor.
• Fee-for-service. Members not in a plan book through DHCF’s transportation broker, at the number in the member handbook, at least three business days ahead.

In every case, the ride goes to a covered service and is booked through the plan or broker, not directly with a transportation company.

Booking a DC ride with H&M Transport

For members of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia:

1. Call the transportation number on the member ID card. The plan’s rides are arranged through SafeRide Health.
2. Give the member’s ID, the appointment details and the level of service. Say whether the rider stays in a wheelchair or needs a stretcher, uses oxygen, or has steps at the home.
3. Request H&M Transport by name. SafeRide makes the final assignment, and your request is noted on the trip.
4. Book early. Plans usually ask for several days of notice for routine appointments.

If a health plan’s ride benefit is administered by SafeRide Health, members can book through the plan and ask for us, in DC, Montgomery and Prince George’s alike.

DC trips we run most

Most of our DC Medicaid and private trips begin or end at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, George Washington University Hospital, Howard University Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital and Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center. Many go to dialysis and to rehab.

We pick up in all four quadrants. We cross into Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs at the same rates under WMATC authority 3449. For wheelchair trips see wheelchair transportation in Washington DC; for bed-to-bed trips see stretcher transportation in DC.

When DC Medicaid can’t cover the ride

Some rides can’t go through a plan: a member of another plan, a trip the plan can’t schedule in time, or a discharge that has to happen today.

Private pay. When a ride is not covered, or the plan cannot schedule it in time, families can book H&M Transport directly at our published rates. Wheelchair trips start at $55 per leg on a round trip and stretcher trips at $230 per leg, the same in Virginia, Maryland and DC. No doctor’s order is needed for a private-pay ride. See our private-pay guide or the full rates page.

Medicare. Original Medicare does not cover wheelchair or stretcher vans. See does Medicare cover wheelchair transportation.

Facilities. DC hospitals and skilled nursing facilities book on contracted rates through our facilities page.

Maryland and Virginia

H&M Transport is not a Medicaid provider in Maryland; see Maryland Medicaid transportation. In Virginia we take Medicaid rides for Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan and fee-for-service members; see our Virginia Medicaid transportation guide. For everything we do in the District, see medical transportation in Washington DC.

Common questions

Does DC Medicaid cover wheelchair transportation?

Yes, for rides to covered services, arranged through the member’s plan or, for fee-for-service members, through DHCF’s transportation broker.

Which DC Medicaid plan does H&M Transport serve?

Only UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of the District of Columbia, through SafeRide Health. Members book through the plan and request H&M Transport by name.

I’m in a different DC plan. Can I still ride with H&M Transport?

Not as a Medicaid ride. Use the transportation number on your ID card for a covered ride, or book H&M Transport directly as a private-pay trip.

How much notice does DC Medicaid need?

Fee-for-service members book at least three business days ahead, and plans usually ask for several days. Urgent rides can be arranged with less notice through the plan.

Can you take a DC rider to Virginia or Maryland?

Yes. We hold WMATC authority 3449 for trips between the District, Northern Virginia and the Maryland suburbs.

How much is a private-pay ride in DC?

The same as in Virginia and Maryland: wheelchair trips start at $55 per leg on a round trip and stretcher trips at $230 per leg.

What we don’t do

H&M Transport runs non-emergency medical transportation. There is no medical care or monitoring on board, we never take anyone to an emergency room, and we do not move patients between hospitals for a higher level of care. We do run scheduled, stable transfers between facilities, such as hospital to rehab or to a nursing home. If a rider becomes unwell during a trip, the driver stops safely and calls 911. In an emergency, call 911.