District of Columbia program
Rides to appointments
DC Medicaid includes rides to covered medical appointments through your child's health plan.
What it is
DC Medicaid includes rides to covered medical appointments through your child's health plan.
Regular treatment can mean many trips to the hospital. Medicaid rides are arranged through the child's own plan. The booking number and advance notice depend on that plan.
Eligibility rules
- Whatever opened the child's Medicaid.
- District of Columbia.
What you get
- No family charge for covered trips to and from appointments.
If you decide to apply
- Ask your child's Medicaid care manager which ride line serves your plan.
- Have the appointment address, time and treatment calendar ready, and ask about recurring bookings.
If DHCF pays directly: MTM 866-796-0601. AmeriHealth Caritas DC: 800-315-3485. MedStar Family Choice DC: 866-201-9974. HSCSN/Verida: 866-991-5433. Your child’s insurance card identifies the plan. · Official page ↗
Booking contacts
- Special-needs plan trips use Verida at 1-866-991-5433. MedStar Family Choice DC lists 866-201-9974.
- Wellpoint DC members were assigned to AmeriHealth Caritas DC from August 1, 2026. DHCF’s transition instructions protect existing appointments and referrals or prior authorizations issued before August 1 through October 31, 2026, including with doctors and hospitals outside the new plan’s network. New services need the appropriate new-plan approval. The care manager can confirm your child’s assignment and continuing treatment arrangements.
- If your child is in fee-for-service Medicaid, MTM (866-796-0601) books rides with three business days' notice; urgent trips can be arranged faster. Ask before the trip whether mileage for your own car can be paid.
Good to know
The special-needs plan takes bookings Monday through Friday. A Monday appointment needs a Friday booking.
Official sources
- HSCSN — Transportation Services
- MedStar Family Choice DC — Benefits Contact Information
- DHCF — Medicaid Managed Care Plans (MCPs)
- DHCF — Revised Transmittal 26-19, Managed Care Plan Transition
- DHCF — Health Care Alliance FFS Member Handbook
- Official source reviewed September 17, 2026 (B Q6)
- Official source reviewed September 17, 2026 (B Q6)
- Official source reviewed September 17, 2026 (B Q6)
- Official source reviewed September 17, 2026 (B Q6)
- Official source reviewed September 17, 2026 (B Q20)
“Could our child’s Medicaid plan arrange rides for repeated appointments? What notice and waiting time should we expect, and could you help us set this up if it works for us?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand whether scheduled rides can make treatment trips more manageable.
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 at least a day ahead and ask for standing rides.
Your social worker
The plan's care manager can set up the whole calendar at once.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The health plan's transport line.
- Ask the agency
- “My child has clinic three times a week. Can you set up standing rides for the treatment calendar rather than one booking at a time?”
How to apply
First step: Ask which plan your child is in, then ring that plan's ride line and ask for standing rides.
- Find out which Medicaid plan your child is in.
- Ring the plan's ride line and ask to set up standing rides for the treatment calendar.
- Book Monday appointments on the Friday before.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Use the child’s actual coverage: fee-for-service MTM 866-796-0601; AmeriHealth Caritas DC 800-315-3485; MedStar Family Choice DC 866-201-9974; HSCSN/Verida 866-991-5433. MTM normally asks for 3 business days’ notice, with medically urgent trips considered sooner. HSCSN’s separate 24-hour Monday–Friday booking rule does not apply to every plan.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: At least 24 hours' notice for the special-needs plan.
What a yes looks like
A booking reference and a pick-up time, or a standing schedule.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask the plan care manager and the hospital social worker; also ask about petrol or parking help.
Watch out
- Book at least a day ahead; the special-needs plan takes bookings Monday to Friday only.
- An old Wellpoint DC number will not work: those members moved to AmeriHealth Caritas DC in August 2026.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Free rides to appointments. The special-needs plan books through Verida on 1-866-991-5433 with at least 24 hours' notice.
- $24 — Minimum notice the special-needs plan asks for when booking a ride
Covers: Rides to and from medical appointments
What it costs the family: No cost for a covered ride.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Income
- Whatever opened the child's Medicaid
- Residency
- District of Columbia
The trap: Book ahead. The special-needs plan asks for at least 24 hours' notice and takes bookings Monday to Friday, so a Monday appointment has to be booked on the Friday.
Where I read this
- HSCSN — Transportation Services — Health Services for Children with Special Needs, read September 10, 2026
- MedStar Family Choice DC — Benefits Contact Information — MedStar Family Choice DC, read September 10, 2026
- DHCF — Medicaid Managed Care Plans (MCPs) — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026
- DHCF — Revised Transmittal 26-19, Managed Care Plan Transition — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026
- DHCF — Health Care Alliance FFS Member Handbook — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026