Delaware program
Rides to appointments (Delaware Medicaid transportation)
Free rides to medical and dental appointments when you have no other way to get there.
What it is
Free rides to medical and dental appointments when you have no other way to get there.
Modivcare arranges rides in all three Delaware counties. Your child needs qualifying coverage and no other means of transportation. Repeated treatment visits can be discussed together.
Eligibility rules
- Your child must have Delaware Medicaid or Delaware Healthy Children coverage and no other way to reach the appointment.
What you get
- Free rides to covered medical and dental appointments.
What the help includes
- The broker serves all of Delaware. The clinic scheduler can provide the full course of treatment dates.
- If you drive your own car, Modivcare can pay mileage (about 30 cents a mile) once the clinic signs a trip log; a check takes three to four weeks. Ask for the trip number before you go.
If you decide to apply
- If you decide to use rides, ask Modivcare about the appointments; routine bookings usually need three business days’ notice.
- Have the Medicaid number, clinic address, appointment dates and mobility needs ready.
Modivcare · 1-866-412-3778 · Official page ↗
What happens next
- Your booking includes a pickup time and trip reference number.
Good to know
Verified urgent trips and hospital discharges can have shorter notice. Emergency transportation uses a different route.
Other details
- For treatment far away, ask the broker before you travel whether it will pay for a parent to ride along, mileage, meals or lodging; each needs its own approval.
Official sources
“Could transportation help us reach treatment? What are the limitations, and could you help us arrange rides if we qualify?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand how appointments and ride bookings fit together.
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
Book three business days ahead and ask for the whole course of appointments in one call.
Your social worker
The clinic scheduler can give you the run of dates to book against.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Modivcare, the broker, against the plan’s rules.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can you give me the full list of appointment dates so I can book the rides three business days ahead in one call?”
How to apply
First step: Call Modivcare on 1-866-412-3778 with your child’s Medicaid number and the list of appointment dates.
- Call 1-866-412-3778 and book the whole run of appointments at once.
- Ask the broker what it pays for if treatment is outside Delaware.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Routine rides usually need three business days’ notice. Modivcare can verify urgent or short-notice trips and hospital discharges when ordinary advance booking is not possible.
What to gather
- Medicaid identity number
- The clinic address and the appointment dates
- Any mobility needs
How long: Routine rides usually need three business days’ advance booking; urgent or discharge trips are reviewed separately.
What a yes looks like
A confirmed pick-up time and a reference number for each trip.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually not enough notice, or another means of transport on record. Ask what the broker recorded and correct it.
Watch out
- Three business days is not 72 hours over a weekend. Book on the longer rule.
- Book the whole course of chemotherapy visits at once rather than one at a time.
- The broker and plan confirm distant-trip approval, current mileage rate, meals, lodging, escort and receipts before you rely on reimbursement.
Dates that change this
2026-01-01: The broker says three business days; the state-approved plan handbook says 72 hours. Over a weekend those are not the same. Book on the three-business-day rule to be safe.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Free rides to medical and dental appointments across Delaware, booked three business days ahead.
- $3 — Routine advance notice; verified urgent trips and hospital discharges have exceptions
Covers: Rides to and from medical and dental appointments statewide
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Coverage
- Delaware Medicaid or the Delaware Healthy Children Program
- Condition
- the ride is for a medical or dental appointment and the member has no other means of transportation
- Geography
- all of Delaware
Expect friction on: Booking needs three business days’ notice, including for repeat chemotherapy visits
The trap: Booking late. Repeat chemotherapy trips still need the same advance notice, so book the whole run of appointments at once rather than each time.
Where I read this
- DHSS — Delaware Healthy Children Program — Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, read September 10, 2026
- Modivcare — Delaware Facility Resources — Modivcare (Delaware non-emergency medical transportation broker), read September 10, 2026
- Delaware First Health — 2026 DSHP / DHCP Member Handbook (state-approved December 8, 2025) — Delaware First Health (Centene), approved by the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, read September 10, 2026