Kentucky program
Help with lodging and meals far from home
Kentucky Medicaid can reimburse approved lodging and meals for distant treatment.
What it is
Kentucky Medicaid can reimburse approved lodging and meals for distant treatment.
Distant treatment can create lodging and meal costs. Some hotels bill the program directly; other approved expenses are reimbursed after payment. Advance approval and matching receipts are essential.
Eligibility rules
- The child must be on Kentucky Medicaid.
- The February 2026 instructions use at least 90 miles from home to the appointment. The travel office confirms the route and any exception.
- A medically necessary Medicaid-covered service with a credentialed provider.
- You must live in Kentucky.
What you get
- Up to $90 a night for lodging per invoice.
- Up to $15 a day for meals per eligible person.
Amounts and limits
- Maximum lodging reimbursement per night, per invoice: $90 per day.
- Maximum meal reimbursement per day, per eligible person: $15 per day.
- Minimum distance from the appointment: 90 miles.
- Days before the appointment the authorization must be submitted: 7 days.
- Days after the approved appointment to send receipts: 30 days.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker to help with the Medicaid travel form at least seven days before the appointment.
- Keep receipts for approved dates; they must reach the program within 30 days after the appointment.
Travel, lodging and meal reimbursement: 502-564-6890 · Official page ↗
If you decide to apply
- The decision comes from the Department for Medicaid Services travel reimbursement program.
Good to know
Some hotels can bill the program directly; otherwise approved costs may need to be paid first. The lodging cap is per invoice, not per family member.
Other details
- Approved meals can cover one parent or guardian and a child who is not an inpatient, up to $15 daily per eligible person. Lodging is capped at $90 per night per invoice. Overnight approval depends on appointment timing and medical need; an afternoon appointment needs an explanation. Some hotels bill directly, while other approved costs are reimbursed after payment.
Official sources
“What costs could travel help cover, what would remain ours, and could you help us decide whether to request it?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand what help is available if treatment takes us far from home.
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
Submit the form seven days ahead, keep receipts, send them within 30 days.
Your social worker
The clinic confirms the appointment dates and that the provider is credentialed.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department for Medicaid Services travel programme.
- Ask your social worker
- “My child is treated more than 90 miles away. Can we get the travel authorisation in seven days before each block of appointments?”
How to apply
First step: Call 502-564-6890 or read the February 2026 instructions, and send the authorisation seven days before the first trip.
- Get the authorisation in seven days before the first trip, not after.
- Check the provider is credentialed with Kentucky Medicaid and your child's plan.
- Keep every hotel and meal receipt, dated to match the approved trip.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Send the authorisation form at least seven days before the appointment, then the matching receipts within 30 days. Questions on 502-564-6890.
What to gather
- The appointment schedule
- The provider's name, to check credentialing
- Hotel and meal receipts
How long: Authorisation seven days ahead; receipts within 30 days of the approved appointment.
What a yes looks like
An approval naming the dates, then a payment after the receipts land.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether it was the distance, the timing or the provider's credentialing, and fix that one thing for the next trip.
Watch out
- The form goes in seven days before the appointment. A trip taken first is usually not repaid.
- Receipts have to match the approved dates and arrive within 30 days.
- The lodging cap is per invoice, not per person.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Approved lodging is capped at $90 per hotel invoice per night. Meals are up to $15 per eligible person per day for one parent or guardian and the child when not an inpatient. Approval requires seven days’ notice; receipts are due within 30 days.
- $90 — Maximum lodging reimbursement per night, per invoice
- $15 — Maximum meal reimbursement per day, per eligible person
- $90 — Minimum distance from the appointment
- $7 — Days before the appointment the authorisation must be submitted
- $30 — Days after the approved appointment to send receipts
Covers: Lodging and meal reimbursement · Travel help on 502-564-6890
What it costs the family: Some hotels can bill the program directly. Other approved expenses may require payment first and reimbursement afterward.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Coverage
- the child must be on Kentucky Medicaid
- Distance
- at least 90 miles from the appointment
- Medical
- a medically necessary Medicaid-covered service with a credentialed provider
- Residency
- Kentucky
The trap: The authorisation has to be submitted seven days before the appointment, and receipts have to arrive within 30 days afterwards and match the approved dates. A room booked and paid for before the form went in is usually not repaid.
Where I read this
- CHFS — Travel Reimbursement Instructions, February 2026 — Cabinet for Health and Family Services, read September 10, 2026
- CHFS — Medical Transportation — Cabinet for Health and Family Services, read September 10, 2026