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

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

West Virginia program

Rides and travel help through Medicaid

Medicaid can pay for travel to covered appointments, with meals and lodging for eligible long trips.

What it is

Medicaid can pay for travel to covered appointments, with meals and lodging for eligible long trips.

Travel costs can add up across a treatment schedule. Modivcare arranges Medicaid transportation and reviews mileage, meals and lodging. The trip and any overnight stay must meet the program’s rules.

Eligibility rules
  • The Medicaid route requires Medicaid coverage. The state also describes travel reimbursement for Children with Special Health Care Needs Program clients.
  • A parent's meals and room can be covered on an approved overnight trip, but only if the hospital confirms it is not providing them and Modivcare approves before you go.
What you get
  • No-cost rides when arranged through the transport service.
  • Mileage reimbursement for eligible trips.
  • Lodging for the child and one adult on approved overnight stays.
  • Meals reimbursed at $5 per meal, per person, on eligible stays.
What the help includes
  • The $80 nightly limit applies when you choose lodging instead of the transport service’s cheapest option. It is not a general cap on every approved stay.
  • Eligible trips can include the pharmacy as well as treatment appointments.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your social worker or clinic about booking through Modivcare at 1-844-549-8353. Routine trips need five business days’ notice; urgent or repeat treatment has different arrangements.
  2. Have the clinic’s appointment dates ready and explain any overnight or out-of-state travel.
  3. Ask the hospital to confirm whether it supplies meals or lodging for the adult traveling with your child.

Modivcare, West Virginia Medicaid transportation: 1-844-549-8353 · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • Modivcare arranges the ride or reviews the travel support. A whole treatment block can be discussed together.
  • If a trip is urgent, the clinic can tell Modivcare and the five-day notice is waived. For repeated treatment, ask for a standing booking for the whole block.
Good to know

Out-of-state travel, meals and lodging need advance approval to qualify for reimbursement.

Other details
  • Out-of-state transplant care has a separate medical approval requirement. Travel approval does not replace treatment approval.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Medicaid help with our treatment trips, including an adult’s meals and hotel when needed? What would we pay ourselves, and could you help us arrange approval for the whole schedule?”

Why I’m asking: Travel should not be what keeps us from getting 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

Book five business days ahead, and ask for the whole run of appointments rather than one at a time.

Your social worker

The hospital can confirm it does not provide lodging, which is what unlocks the escort's meals and hotel.

The care team

The clinic can list the appointment dates so the block can be booked in one call.

Who decides
Modivcare, the state's transport broker.
Ask your social worker
“Can we book rides for the whole treatment block at once, and can the hospital confirm in writing that it does not provide lodging?”

How to apply

First step: Call 844-549-8353 and book the whole block of appointments, not one at a time.

  1. Call 844-549-8353 before the first appointment and book the whole induction block.
  2. If treatment is out of state, get the broker's approval before you travel, including the hotel and meals.
  3. Ask the hospital to confirm in writing that it does not provide lodging, so the escort's stay is covered.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call the broker and book the whole block of appointments at once, at least five business days ahead.

What to gather

  • Your child's Medicaid number
  • The clinic's appointment dates
  • The hospital's address and clinic name

How long: Book at least five business days before the ride is needed.

What a yes looks like

A confirmed booking number for each date, and a driver at the door.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If a trip is refused, ask which rule was used and whether an out-of-state approval was needed in advance.

Watch out

  • Book five business days ahead; a same-day call will not be filled.
  • Out-of-state travel has to be approved before you go or nothing is reimbursed.
  • The eighty-dollar limit applies only if you turn down the broker's cheapest lodging.

The numbers and the rules

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

What it is worth

Rides to every appointment, plus lodging for the child and one adult and meals at five dollars each on long trips.

  • $5 — Notice for a routine ride
  • $5 — Meal reimbursement, per meal per person
  • $80 — Limit if you choose lodging other than the broker's cheapest option
  • $1 — People whose lodging is covered besides the child

Covers: Rides to appointments and the pharmacy · Mileage reimbursement · Lodging for the child and one adult on an overnight stay · Meals during an eligible stay

What it costs the family: Nothing, when the broker books it.

The eligibility facts, as published

Medicaid
required for the Medicaid route
Cshcn
the state manual describes reimbursement for Medicaid and Children with Special Health Care Needs clients
Escort rule
meals and lodging for the person travelling with the child are covered only where the hospital confirms it does not provide them

Decisions this site cannot make: Broker approval in advance for out-of-state travel, lodging and meals

Expect friction on: Routine rides need five business days' notice · Long drives across the state make same-week booking essential

The trap: The $80 a night figure is not the hotel budget. It is the limit if you pick your own lodging instead of the broker's cheapest option. Let the broker book and the cap does not apply.

Where I read this

← Back to your options