California program
Rides and travel help for treatment (Medi-Cal or CCS)
Help getting to covered care through approved Medi-Cal or CCS rides and travel benefits.
What it is
Help getting to covered care through approved Medi-Cal or CCS rides and travel benefits.
Repeated treatment trips can be expensive. Medi-Cal and CCS can help with transport to covered care. The program must approve the kind of trip and any distant-care expenses.
Who can get it
- Your child must have Medi-Cal or CCS, and the trip must be for a covered service.
- If your child has a Medi-Cal plan, use its transport team or contractor. Direct, fee-for-service Medi-Cal has a DHCS route. Ordinary rides and medically needed special transport have different tests. Special transport (NEMT) needs a clinical assessment and certification from the appropriate prescriber.
What you get
- Free approved rides, mileage reimbursement or transit passes.
- Wheelchair or stretcher transportation when medically needed.
- Approved medically necessary lodging, meals and an attendant for distant covered care.
What you get
- Approved, medically necessary travel for covered care can include lodging, meals and a medically necessary attendant. Ask the plan or direct Medi-Cal travel contact to check the destination, dates, expenses and attendant need. Not every family member’s costs are covered. Treatment approval and travel approval are separate.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your social worker for the Medi-Cal plan’s transport contact or the direct Medi-Cal route. Check what records and notice are needed, including for an urgent trip.
- Have ready: the plan card, appointment dates and a doctor’s form if medical transport is needed.
The Medi-Cal plan (or CCS case worker) · Official page ↗
What happens next
- Ask the transport contact how much notice it wants and how it handles an urgent trip. One doctor's form can cover a whole run of appointments.
- The plan complaint team or CCS case worker can review a refusal and the trip type cited.
Good to know
Medical transport needs clinical certification. Treatment approval and approval of travel expenses are separate.
What else to know
- Lodging, meals and a medically necessary attendant can be covered travel benefits after approval. Not every family member’s expenses qualify. The plan or direct Medi-Cal travel contact confirms costs before promising reimbursement.
- Planned treatment in another state needs Medi-Cal's approval first; emergencies and clinics just over the border are the exceptions. Ask before booking.
Official sources
“Which treatment trips, mileage or travel costs could be covered for us? What needs approval first, and is requesting help worthwhile? Could you help us arrange the right kind of transport?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand which treatment trips and travel expenses could be covered.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Call the number on the plan card before each appointment and ask for a ride or mileage.
Your social worker
The social worker gives you the plan's transportation number and, for distant care, asks CCS about parent travel.
The care team
The doctor signs the medical-transport form when the child cannot ride in a car.
- Who decides
- The Medi-Cal plan's transportation line (or the CCS case worker)
- Ask your social worker
- “Can you show me the transportation number on my child's Medi-Cal plan card, and for the trips to the center, can CCS authorize parent travel?”
How to apply
First step: Call the number on the Medi-Cal plan card (or the CCS case worker) and ask for non-medical transportation to the next appointment.
- Call the plan before the appointment.
- Get the doctor’s form for medical transport.
Where it starts: Number on the plan card
What to gather
- Plan card
- Appointment dates
- A doctor's form for medical transport if needed
How long: Same week. Book ahead.
What a yes looks like
A ride booked or mileage reimbursed for each trip.
What a no looks like, and the next move
A refusal that names the trip type. Ask the plan complaint line and the CCS case worker.
Watch out
- Call before the appointment. Medical transport needs a doctor's form.
- For an out-of-state center, get the payer's approval before assuming travel is paid.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 8, 2026.
What it is worth
Free rides, mileage, transit passes or medical transport to treatment. CCS can add parent travel for distant care.
Covers: Non-medical transportation (rides, mileage, transit) · Non-emergency medical transportation (wheelchair, stretcher) · CCS-approved travel for the CCS condition
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Medi cal or ccs
- yes
- Covered service trip
- yes
Decisions this site cannot make: Transportation type and medical necessity
Expect friction on: Advance notice · Plan broker routing
The trap: Medical transport needs a doctor's form. Ordinary rides do not. Call before the appointment.
Where I read this
- Medi-Cal Transportation Services — California Department of Health Care Services, read August 27, 2026
- CCS administrative case-management manual — California Department of Health Care Services, read September 8, 2026