Section 1: Get to know the Medical Transportation Program

Know the transportation options available through MTP

  • Scheduled rides
    • If the patient does not have a car and no one can drive him or her, MTP may arrange for a ride to the appointment and back as well as to other scheduled, medically necessary, covered health-care services. The ride may be provided via mass transit or scheduled in a taxi, van, or other vehicle.
  • Mileage Reimbursement
    • If the patient has a car and can drive himself or herself to the appointment, or your patient does not have a car but has access to a car and driver, MTP may reimburse the driver by the mile for the trip to and from the appointment or other service. Mileage reimbursement is part of the ITP program.
    • The driver must meet specific requirements to receive mileage reimbursement. The MTP provider will verify that requirements are met prior to the scheduled trip.
  • Long-Distance Travel
    • When long-distance travel to an appointment is medically necessary, MTP may pay for overnight lodging and meals for the patient and one adult. This benefit:
      • Is available only for patients enrolled in Medicaid ages birth through 20 years.
      • Requires additional approval and documentation, which is covered in Section 2 of this tutorial.

Schedule the appointment before arranging a ride

Before a free ride is arranged, the patient must have a scheduled appointment with a Medicaid health-care provider at a registered location. Rides must be scheduled before the date of the appointment. Allow at least two business days for a local ride and five business days for an out-of-area ride.

MTP providers will try to accommodate urgent and same-day requests if a child who lacks transportation has a new onset of illness that requires urgent care or treatment. The health-care appointment must be scheduled prior to arranging a ride.

Alert: Register all locations with Texas Medicaid

MTP will only schedule rides to a registered Medicaid provider at a registered location. As a Medicaid provider, you are responsible for registering all site locations with the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP). Refer to the Resources at the end of the tutorial for a link to the TMHP Provider Enrollment web page for information about registering site locations.