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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Ohio program

Free rides to Medicaid appointments

Ohio Medicaid helps your child get to covered medical appointments, with a parent along.

What it is

Ohio Medicaid helps your child get to covered medical appointments, with a parent along.

Transportation help goes through your child's Medicaid plan or county Job and Family Services office. A parent can accompany a child under 21. The payer must confirm travel approval and reimbursement limits before you rely on payment.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must have Ohio Medicaid. The plan or county checks the trip and transport needs.
  • County transportation and reimbursement follow OAC 5160-15-10.
What you get
  • Rides to covered appointments and a parent escort for a child under 21.
  • Possible help with approved travel costs, under the plan's or county's limits.
What this covers
  • The current member-services or transportation number on your child's Medicaid ID card is the plan route. The plan confirms booking notice, operating hours and urgent-trip arrangements.
  • The county Job and Family Services non-emergency transportation office can explain its route and coordinate with the plan. A child's parent or guardian can accompany them under the county rule for members under 21.
  • For a distant trip, get the plan's or county's approval before booking, and ask what it will pay for: a parent travelling too, meals, a hotel, parking and mileage. Rates differ by county and plan, and a bill you pay first is not always repaid.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your child's Medicaid plan for its ride service, or your county office for non-emergency transportation.
  2. Have the appointment time, address and any mobility needs ready. Ask about repeating clinic trips.
  3. Before paying for travel, the social worker can help you get the payer's approval, limits and receipt requirements in writing.

Your child's Medicaid plan or county Job and Family Services transportation office · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • The transportation office confirms the booked trip. For approved self-paid costs, its written instructions explain receipts, limits and where to request reimbursement.
Good to know

Routine rides need advance booking, but the required notice depends on the plan or county. The social worker can help ask about urgent trips, discharges, repeated clinic visits and travel costs before you pay them.

Other details
  • OhioRISE meal and lodging rules apply to its enrolled youth. They are not a universal travel allowance for every child on Medicaid.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could rides or mileage repayment make our clinic trips easier, and what limits should we know? Could you help us work out which service to use?”

Why I’m asking: I want to reduce the cost and difficulty of getting my child to treatment.

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

The Medicaid plan or county transportation office confirms booking notice, urgent-trip arrangements, accompaniment and approved costs before a family relies on payment. A parent or guardian can accompany a child under 21; no statewide family reimbursement rate is established.

Your social worker

The social worker gives you the plan's ride line and asks the county about repayment.

The care team

Confirms appointment dates for standing orders.

Who decides
The child's Medicaid plan approves and books trips. The county job and family services office (JFS) decides repayment of your own travel costs.
Ask your social worker
“Which ride line does our Medicaid plan use? Can we set up standing rides for clinic days, and does the county repay gas when we drive ourselves?”

How to apply

First step: Call your plan's ride line (Anthem 800-282-9720, Buckeye 866-531-0615, CareSource 800-488-0134, Humana 855-739-5986, Molina 866-642-9279, AmeriHealth 833-664-6368, UnitedHealthcare 800-895-2017) and set up the clinic days.

  1. The Medicaid plan or county transportation office confirms booking notice, urgent-trip arrangements, accompaniment and approved costs before a family relies on payment. A parent or guardian can accompany a child under 21; no statewide family reimbursement rate is established.
  2. Ask the county JFS about NET reimbursement for gas when you drive.

Where it starts: Call the plan's transportation line (see plan_lines) or ask the county JFS for NET

What to gather

  • Plan member ID
  • Appointment dates
  • Gas and parking receipts for county repayment

How long: The plan or county confirms required notice, urgent handling and when an approved ride or reimbursement will be arranged.

What a yes looks like

A confirmed trip number for each visit.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask the plan for the refusal in writing, then call the Medicaid consumer hotline at 800-324-8680.

Watch out

  • The Medicaid plan or county transportation office confirms booking notice, urgent-trip arrangements, accompaniment and approved costs before a family relies on payment. A parent or guardian can accompany a child under 21; no statewide family reimbursement rate is established.
  • Meal and lodging rates for a far-away hospital were not found. Ask the plan in writing before a long trip.
  • Ask the county about necessary out-of-pocket travel expenses. The OhioRISE meals/lodging rule is for its enrolled youth with managed care; it is not a universal distance or dollar allowance for every child.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.

What it is worth

The Medicaid plan or county transportation office confirms booking notice, urgent-trip arrangements, accompaniment and approved costs before a family relies on payment. A parent or guardian can accompany a child under 21; no statewide family reimbursement rate is established.

  • $2 — Routine advance notice (most plans)
  • $21 (younger than 21) — Child age under which a parent escort is a transport benefit

Covers: Plan-booked rides · County NET rides and travel-expense reimbursement · A parent or guardian accompanying a child under 21 · A separate parent trip to a hospitalized child when needed for the child's care

What it costs the family: None.

The eligibility facts, as published

Medicaid
child on Ohio Medicaid
Plan lines
AmeriHealth Caritas 833-664-6368; Anthem (MTM) 800-282-9720; Buckeye 866-531-0615; CareSource 800-488-0134; Humana (MTM Health) 855-739-5986; Molina 866-642-9279; UnitedHealthcare member services 800-895-2017
County
county JFS non-emergency transportation under OAC 5160-15-10; parent escort under 21; necessary out-of-pocket travel reimbursement

Decisions this site cannot make: Plan trip approval

Expect friction on: Two-business-day notice · Booking reliability NOT FOUND

The trap: The Medicaid plan or county transportation office confirms booking notice, urgent-trip arrangements, accompaniment and approved costs before a family relies on payment. A parent or guardian can accompany a child under 21; no statewide family reimbursement rate is established.

Where I read this

← Back to your options