Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Indiana program

Rides to appointments through Medicaid

Indiana Medicaid can arrange rides to covered care through your child's exact plan and benefit package.

What it is

Indiana Medicaid can arrange rides to covered care through your child's exact plan and benefit package.

Repeated treatment trips can strain the family budget. The transport office checks your child's coverage and books eligible rides. Overnight costs and mileage payments need their own approval.

Eligibility rules
  • The exact Medicaid plan, benefit package and appointment must qualify. Hoosier Healthwise Package C should not be assumed to include routine Medicaid rides.
  • Fee-for-service policy allows advance-authorized meals and lodging for the child and one escort when covered treatment requires an overnight stay. A Medicaid health plan must confirm its own authorization and booking route; an approved medical visit does not automatically approve a hotel, meals or reimbursement for a family-booked trip.
What you get
  • Rides to covered appointments when your child's Medicaid package includes them.
  • Possible meals and lodging for overnight care, under the applicable approval rules.
What the help includes
  • Fee-for-service overnight assistance may cover the child and one escort after advance approval. A health plan confirms its own meals, lodging and escort rules.
  • Doctor-supported urgent trips and hospital discharges have a short-notice process. A medical emergency uses emergency services, not the routine ride line.
  • Family mileage is not paid automatically. Anthem lists mileage assistance; its requirements and fee-for-service enrollment or approval conditions must be confirmed before relying on reimbursement.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the transport office listed by your child's Medicaid plan to arrange the treatment trips.
  2. Have the appointment dates, clinic address and insurance details ready.
  3. For an overnight trip, ask about meals and lodging before making travel arrangements.

The transport number on the child's Medicaid plan card · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The clinic can confirm the appointment and its urgency to the transport office.
  • The transport office confirms the pickup arrangements and any overnight approval.
Good to know

Routine state-booked and Anthem trips need two business days' notice. Other plans confirm their own lead times.

Other details
  • Contacts: fee-for-service Verida, 855-325-7586. Anthem WellTrans, 844-772-6632, serves its HIP State/Maternity, Hoosier Healthwise Package A and Hoosier Care Connect coverage.
  • CareSource HIP/Hoosier Healthwise: 844-607-2829. MHS HIP/Hoosier Healthwise/Hoosier Care Connect: 877-647-4848. UnitedHealthcare Hoosier Care Connect member services, 800-832-4643, can identify the current ride vendor.
  • Fee-for-service and Anthem routine trips need two business days' notice. Anthem takes reservations up to 45 days ahead. Each other plan confirms its lead time, urgent exceptions, overnight procedures and mileage terms.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Medicaid rides help with our treatment schedule? What booking limits or drawbacks should we plan around, and could you help arrange rides and any overnight help that fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand the travel help before paying for repeated trips or an overnight stay.

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 two business days ahead for routine trips, and say when an appointment is urgent and doctor-verified.

Your social worker

The clinic can confirm the appointment and the urgency to the broker.

The care team

The doctor verifies an urgent appointment when a ride is needed at short notice.

Who decides
The transport broker for your child's plan.
Ask your social worker
“Can you help me set up Medicaid rides for the whole treatment block, and find out whether meals and lodging are approved for our overnight visits?”

How to apply

First step: Call the broker for your plan and book the next month of appointments in one go.

  1. Book the next month of appointments in one call.
  2. If treatment needs an overnight stay, ask for meals and lodging approval before you travel.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Contacts checked September 17, 2026: fee-for-service Verida, 855-325-7586. Anthem WellTrans, 844-772-6632, serves its HIP State/Maternity, Hoosier Healthwise Package A and Hoosier Care Connect coverage. CareSource HIP/Hoosier Healthwise: 844-607-2829. MHS HIP/Hoosier Healthwise/Hoosier Care Connect: 877-647-4848. UnitedHealthcare Hoosier Care Connect member services, 800-832-4643, can identify the current ride vendor. Fee-for-service and Anthem routine trips need two business days' notice. Anthem takes reservations up to 45 days ahead. Each other plan confirms its lead time, urgent exceptions, overnight procedures and mileage terms.

What to gather

  • The health plan card
  • The appointment list
  • The clinic address and the time you need to arrive

How long: Two business days for a routine fee-for-service trip. Less for a doctor-verified urgent appointment.

What a yes looks like

A confirmed booking with a pick-up time and a vehicle type that suits the child.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the trip is refused, ask which rule was applied and ask the clinic to confirm the appointment is covered.

Watch out

  • Fee-for-service and Anthem routine trips need two business days' notice. Anthem takes reservations up to 45 days ahead. Each other plan confirms its lead time, urgent exceptions, overnight procedures and mileage terms.
  • Meals and lodging need approval before you travel, not after.

Dates that change this

2026-01-01: The broker assignments for the Healthy Indiana Plan and Hoosier Healthwise plans date from January 1, 2026. The numbers the state lists for the other plans are member services lines, not verified dispatch lines.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Free rides to appointments, booked two business days ahead for fee-for-service members, plus meals and lodging for the child and one escort with advance approval.

  • $2 — Business days notice for a routine fee-for-service ride

Covers: Rides to covered appointments · Fee-for-service overnight assistance may cover the child and one escort after advance approval. A health plan confirms its own meals, lodging and escort rules.

Legal protection: A doctor-verified urgent appointment can be booked with less than two days notice

What it costs the family: No cost when the child has Indiana Medicaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage
the child has Indiana Medicaid
Approval
Fee-for-service policy allows advance-authorized meals and lodging for the child and one escort when covered treatment requires an overnight stay. A Medicaid health plan must confirm its own authorization and booking route; an approved medical visit does not automatically approve a hotel, meals or reimbursement for a family-booked trip.

The trap: Fee-for-service and Anthem routine trips need two business days' notice. Anthem takes reservations up to 45 days ahead. Each other plan confirms its lead time, urgent exceptions, overnight procedures and mileage terms.

Where I read this

← Back to your options