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

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North Dakota program

Rides to treatment, and meals and lodging when you travel

Medicaid help getting to covered appointments, including overnight travel when needed.

What it is

Medicaid help getting to covered appointments, including overnight travel when needed.

Repeated trips can add up quickly. Medicaid can cover rides and, when an overnight stay is needed, meals and lodging. Your human service zone or tribal office arranges approval rather than a single statewide ride company.

Eligibility rules
  • The appointment must be Medicaid-covered. SFN 1507 approval must reach the transport company before travel.
  • Overnight meals and lodging require medical services or travel arrangements that make the overnight stay necessary.
What you get
  • No charge for approved travel for a child on Medicaid.
  • Meals and lodging can include one parent accompanying a child under 18 overnight.
What the help includes
  • Approved distant-treatment travel may include enrolled transport, meals, lodging and an approved attendant. One accompanying parent is normally allowed for a child under 18. From age 18, a parent can still qualify as a medically necessary attendant. A second escort, or separate driver and attendant, needs justification. The zone confirms the applicable July 1, 2026 mileage, meal and lodging rates and exceptions before costs are incurred. Meals and lodging go to enrolled providers; they are not repaid at whatever you spent.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the human service zone or tribal office about SFN 1507 for the planned trip.
  2. Have appointment dates, the clinic address, distance and your child’s Medicaid number ready.

866-614-6005 — Your human service zone office, or a tribal office · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The hospital can arrange discharge transport using SFN 249. That is a separate route for getting home.
  • For a planned trip, the zone or tribal office coordinates SFN 1507 approval and an enrolled provider before travel. That office confirms booking lead time. For urgent after-hours, weekend or holiday trips, a retroactive request is allowed within 72 hours. The zone has five business days to decide it. When no enrolled company is available, the office coordinates an approved alternative with Medicaid transportation staff. An unapproved private arrangement does not guarantee reimbursement.
Good to know

Meals and lodging are paid to enrolled businesses. They are not refunds of whatever you spend yourself.

Other details
  • A statewide stop on enrolling new transport companies began June 11, 2026. It affects which companies can bill Medicaid, not a child’s underlying right to covered transportation.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Medicaid cover our trips and any overnight stay? What needs approval first, what would we still pay, and could you help us arrange it?”

Why I’m asking: I want treatment travel to be affordable without unexpected bills.

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 before the appointment with the date, the clinic and how far it is.

Your social worker

The zone worker issues the approval; the hospital can arrange the ride home at discharge.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
Your human service zone office, or a tribal office.
Ask the agency
“My child is on Medicaid and has treatment on this date. Can you approve transport, and does the trip qualify for meals and lodging for one parent?”

How to apply

First step: Call your human service zone office this week and ask them to approve transport before the next appointment.

  1. Call your human service zone this week and ask for transport approval before the next appointment.
  2. Ask specifically about meals and lodging for one parent if the trip means an overnight.
  3. At discharge, ask the hospital to arrange the ride home itself.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call your human service zone before the appointment and ask for transport approval on SFN 1507.

What to gather

  • The appointment dates
  • The clinic address and the distance
  • Your child’s Medicaid number

How long: Ask the zone office how much notice they need; there is no published booking window.

What a yes looks like

An approved form the transport company is given before the trip.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which part failed: the appointment not covered, the notice too short, or no enrolled company nearby. Tell the zone office if nobody is available.

Watch out

  • Approval has to happen before you travel. Ring the zone office ahead of the appointment.
  • There is no single statewide booking line; it is your county zone office or a tribal office.
  • Meals and lodging are paid to the hotel or provider, not refunded to you afterwards.

Dates that change this

2026-07-01: North Dakota says the current mileage, meal and lodging rates are in a fee schedule dated July 1, 2026, but the file did not open, so no amounts are shown here. Ask your human service zone what it pays a mile and a night.

2026-06-11: From June 11, 2026 North Dakota stopped enrolling new transport companies statewide. That limits which companies can bill Medicaid, not who can get a ride; if nobody is available, tell the zone office.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Rides to covered appointments for a child on Medicaid, with meals and lodging for one parent when a child under 18 has to travel overnight.

  • $1 — Parents whose meals and lodging can be authorised with a child under 18

Covers: Rides to covered appointments · Meals and lodging when travel or treatment needs an overnight stay · Transport home arranged by the hospital at discharge

What it costs the family: Nothing for a child on Medicaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage
North Dakota Medicaid
Authorisation
human service zone or tribal office approval on SFN 1507 before travel; SFN 249 for hospital-arranged discharge transport
Meals lodging
allowed only when medical services or travel arrangements require an overnight; paid to enrolled providers; one parent with a child under 18

The trap: It has to be approved before you travel. The approved SFN 1507 has to reach the transport company before the trip, so ring the zone office ahead of the appointment, not after it. The one exception is going home: a hospital can arrange and authorise discharge transport itself.

Where I read this

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