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

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Michigan program

Rides and overnight travel help for treatment

Medicaid, MIChild and CSHCS offer travel help for covered appointments, with different booking routes.

What it is

Medicaid, MIChild and CSHCS offer travel help for covered appointments, with different booking routes.

Travel costs add up across repeated appointments. Your plan, MDHHS office or CSHCS coordinator can identify the travel benefit that fits. Overnight costs and trips outside Michigan need separate checks.

Eligibility rules
  • Medicaid, MIChild or CSHCS enrollment is required.
  • If your child is in a Medicaid health plan, call the ride number on the card. On plain Medicaid, Modivcare (866-569-1902) arranges rides in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb; elsewhere the local MDHHS office does. Book two working days ahead; urgent trips have a same-day route.
  • CSHCS-only families use their local health department.
What you get
  • Rides to covered treatment appointments.
  • Some Medicaid travel includes meals and lodging, subject to the applicable rules.
  • CSHCS-only travel may include approved lodging for an outpatient child and one adult.
What the help covers
  • For approved overnight trips, Medicaid can pay back up to $75 a night for a room and about $36 a day for meals for one caregiver, with dated receipts. Get approval before you book.
  • Send receipts within 120 days of the trip.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the hospital social worker which travel office handles your coverage and county.
  2. Have the appointment date, clinic address and travel needs ready before booking.
  3. For overnight travel, ask about approval and reimbursement forms before paying and keep receipts.

Medicaid health-plan transportation: member-card number. Michigan Medicaid broker: 866-569-1902 when assigned. CSHCS-only travel: local CSHCS office. · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • The clinic confirms appointment dates. The travel office checks approvals and the receipts needed for reimbursement.
Good to know

An out-of-state trip needs approval before travel. Meal and lodging amounts from one route do not automatically apply to another.

Other details
  • CSHCS travel follows its own approval and reimbursement rules. Ask the local coordinator to confirm in writing whether meals are covered under CSHCS.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Which travel benefit could cover our appointments? What would we still pay, and could you help arrange it if the conditions fit?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand booking and receipt rules before we pay for travel.

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 ahead and keep receipts.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker knows which route your cover uses.

The care team

The clinic confirms appointment dates for the booking.

Who decides
The health plan, the broker or MDHHS.
Ask your social worker
“Who arranges our rides under our cover, and can we claim lodging and meals for the days we stay over?”

How to apply

First step: Call your Medicaid health plan, or the broker on 1-866-569-1902 if you are fee-for-service in Wayne, Oakland or Macomb.

  1. Work out which route applies: plan, broker, MDHHS office or health department.
  2. Book rides ahead; the broker says two business days depending on the plan.
  3. Keep every receipt for meals and lodging.
  4. For out-of-state care, get the approval in writing before you travel.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call whichever applies, ahead of the appointment.

What to gather

  • Appointment dates and addresses
  • Your plan or case number
  • Receipts for meals and lodging

How long: Routine broker travel generally needs two business days under plan-specific instructions. Urgent treatment has a separate same-day or next-day route. The travel office confirms reimbursement timing.

What a yes looks like

A booked ride, or a reimbursement for lodging and meals after the receipts go in.

What a no looks like, and the next move

The travel office explains the route and any approval issue. Urgent treatment has a separate short-notice route and is not automatically disqualified by routine notice rules.

Watch out

  • Member and facility reimbursement methods cannot be added together.
  • CSHCS travel has separate rules; the coordinator confirms any meal question in writing.
  • Planned out-of-state care and travel need separate approvals.

Dates that change this

2024-08-01: The lodging and meal figures come from the broker’s August 2024 form. They were not confirmed as the 2026 rates, and the broker contract date was not published. Ask the broker or your plan for today’s amounts. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Rides to treatment, lodging up to $75 a day and meals at $8.50, $8.50 and $19 on the broker’s form.

  • $75 — Member lodging maximum, broker form (form updated August 1, 2024; current approval and rate confirmed by travel office)
  • $8.5 — Member breakfast reimbursement, broker form (form updated August 1, 2024; current approval and rate confirmed by travel office)
  • $8.5 — Member lunch reimbursement, broker form (form updated August 1, 2024; current approval and rate confirmed by travel office)
  • $19 — Member dinner reimbursement, broker form (form updated August 1, 2024; current approval and rate confirmed by travel office)

Covers: Rides to and from appointments · Lodging towards an overnight stay · Meals for a member, with receipts

What it costs the family: No charge, but the meal and lodging money is a reimbursement with conditions.

The eligibility facts, as published

Requirement
Medicaid, MIChild or CSHCS enrolment
Routing
health plan; contracted broker in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb for fee-for-service; local MDHHS office elsewhere; local health department for CSHCS-only

The trap: Member receipt rates and facility-paid rates are separate. CSHCS lodging and any meal question need the coordinator’s written approval; Medicaid meal rates do not establish a CSHCS meal benefit.

Where I read this

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