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Transportation for Health Care

If you have Medicaid, Medicaid may pay for rides to and from a doctor, hospital, pharmacy or other medical appointments. We describe the process below.

If you have a medical emergency, call 911.   

If you don’t have Medicaid, here are a few possible ways to get to your doctor’s appointments.

• Call your local bus company. See Go Vermont’s statewide bus map. Seniors often ride at a low rate. Some regional transportation companies provide free rides to medical appointments.
• Call SSTA. SSTA provides rides for people with mobility problems in Chittenden County. They also offer a shuttle from a local bus to the Tilley Drive doctors’ offices in South Burlington.
• Contact VetLiftVT. VetLiftVT offers rides to veterans.
• Call your town. Some towns offer senior vans for local appointments (Essex, for example).
• Contact an organization focused on your medical condition. For example, the American Cancer Society has a “Road to Recovery” program providing free rides to cancer treatments.

Getting a ride from Medicaid

How can I get a ride from Medicaid?

Medicaid transportation is set up through local public transit “brokers.” To schedule a ride, call the broker for your area (see the chart below).

In order for Medicaid to pay for your transportation, you must meet the following requirements:

1. You have no other transportation available.

Medicaid will not pay for rides if you can take public transportation to the appointment. If you have access to a car, Medicaid will only pay for rides if one of the following is true:

• the car is not registered
• the car does not run
• the car is not insured
• there is no licensed driver in your household
• there is no one in your household capable of driving you
• the car is being used by someone else for work purposes

Medicaid will ask for written proof that a car can’t be used. If the car does not run, you must provide proof from a mechanic. If there is a car in your household that meets any of the above criteria, you should send in a completed Vehicle Exception Request Form on this page with documentation to Medicaid/DVHA.

2. The ride is for a necessary medical appointment or service.

The appointment must be for a service covered by Medicaid. It also must be with a provider who takes Medicaid. The broker will check the appointment before they approve the ride. Pharmacy trips are not covered if the pharmacy has a mail or home delivery option.

Please note: Medicaid provides rides to the closest available provider. Medicaid does not pay for transportation “at unusual or exceptional cost” to meet your personal choice of provider.

3. You need to schedule the ride ahead of time.

You must ask for a ride at least two days before your appointment to make sure you get a ride. The broker does not have to give you a ride with less than two days’ notice.

Are you going a long distance?

If you need to go to an appointment that is more than 60 miles away, Medicaid needs your doctor to fill out a prior authorization form.

Appealing a denial

If your request for transportation is denied, you can appeal. To appeal, call Member Services at 1-800-250-8427 within 90 days of the date of denial.

Transportation contacts

Vermont’s Medicaid transportation brokers are listed here. At least two days before your appointment, call the one that serves your area. You can call the Vermont Public Transportation Association (VPTA) if you have any questions about Medicaid transportation. VPTA manages the program in Vermont. The phone number for VPTA is 1-833-387-7200.