Filing a complaint about Medicaid transportation: late rides, no-shows, and unsafe drivers
File a Medicaid transportation complaint with the broker or health plan that arranged the ride, by phone or in writing, as soon as you can, with the date, trip number, and what happened. Anyone can usually file for the rider. If the answer does not fix the problem, contact the state Medicaid agency. Health plans must resolve complaints within 90 days, and Georgia's broker must call back within 24 hours.
On this page
A complaint is how a rider, family member, or facility tells Medicaid that a ride went wrong. It also creates a record the broker and the state have to act on. Federal rules require NEMT brokers to monitor complaints and make sure drivers are licensed, qualified, and courteous, and states audit that work. A clear, specific complaint gets farther than an angry one. This guide covers where to file, what to include, what happens next, and where to go if the first answer is not good enough.
Safety first: when it is not a complaint
Some problems need a faster channel than a complaint line.
- Someone is hurt or in danger. Call 911.
- Suspected abuse or neglect of a resident of a nursing home, assisted living, or board and care home. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program investigates and resolves complaints made by or for residents, and the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit reviews complaints of abuse or neglect of patients in facilities Medicaid pays.
- Billing fraud, such as a ride billed that never happened, goes to the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which investigates provider fraud under 42 CFR 1007.11.
Georgia’s broker handles serious events as incidents, not ordinary complaints. Its manual defines an incident as a distinct event such as an injury, accident, theft, damaged equipment, harassment, drug or alcohol use, or verbal or physical abuse, and requires the broker to report every incident to the state as soon as it learns of it. When you report one, say plainly that it is an incident.
Pick the right door
Each kind of problem has its own process, and the right one reaches the people who can fix it.
| The problem | The process | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Late pickup, no-show, rude driver, dirty or unsafe vehicle, wrong vehicle type | Complaint (called a grievance in managed care) | The broker or health plan that arranged the ride |
| A ride was denied, cut back, or stopped | Appeal or fair hearing | See when a Medicaid ride is denied |
| Treatment based on disability, race, national origin, or language | Civil rights complaint, plus a complaint to the broker or plan | HHS Office for Civil Rights, generally within 180 days |
| A ride billed that never happened | Fraud report | State Medicaid Fraud Control Unit or Medicaid fraud line |
Federal managed care rules define a grievance as dissatisfaction with anything other than a decision about benefits, including quality of service and rudeness (42 CFR 438.400). Missouri’s manual draws the same line: complaints go to the broker, and denials go to a state fair hearing.
Managed care has one overlap. The same federal rules list a plan’s failure to deliver services within the state’s timeliness standard as an adverse benefit determination, which the member can appeal. Where a state’s standard covers rides, a missed pickup can support an appeal as well as a complaint, so ask the plan which route applies.
The civil rights deadline comes from 45 CFR 80.7(b), which HHS applies to Section 1557 complaints through 45 CFR 92.301. CMS’s 2023 transportation guide reminds states that Section 504, the ADA, and Section 1557 all apply to Medicaid rides.
Step 1: Get the ride you need right now
A complaint helps the next ride, not this one. When the driver is late today, call the broker’s late-ride line first. CMS says members should know how to report a no-show and get a replacement ride, and it expects states to allow replacement providers on short notice.
| Program | Late-ride line | When to call |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri fee-for-service | Where’s My Ride, (866) 269-5944, 24 hours a day | A standing order driver is over 15 minutes late, or the rider is done and has no pickup time booked |
| Virginia fee-for-service, for trips from October 1, 2026 | 1-866-246-9979 | The driver is more than 15 minutes late for a set pickup, or 45 minutes have passed since the rider called for a will-call return |
Note the time of every call and the name of the person you spoke with. Those details strengthen the complaint later. Missouri’s broker notes in each complaint investigation whether the facility or rider used the Where’s My Ride line.
Step 2: File with the broker or plan
The broker or health plan that arranged the ride takes the complaint first. Every program below takes complaints by phone, and most also take them online or by mail.
- Missouri. Call the broker at (866) 436-0457, or file on the Where’s My Ride line by telling any representative, “I would like to file a complaint.” A member or anyone filing for them can file. The broker acknowledges a grievance in writing within 10 business days.
- Virginia (trips on or after October 1, 2026). Call MTM Health at 1-866-386-8331, 24 hours a day, use the contact form at mtm-inc.net/contact, or send a letter to the Quality Management department of MTM Health at 16 Hawk Ridge Circle, Lake Saint Louis, MO 63367. Callers need the member’s date of birth plus two other details, such as the trip reference number, Medicaid ID, or pickup address.
- Georgia. Contact the broker, Verida, or the DCH Member Contact Center at 1-866-211-0950, which takes complaints about the broker or a service. Complaints can come from members, their representatives, providers, or anyone else.
- New York. File with Medical Answering Services by phone or on its website.
In managed care, federal rules let a member raise a grievance whenever they choose, orally or on paper. The plan must confirm it received the grievance, assist with paperwork, and offer interpreter and TTY services on request (42 CFR 438.402 and 438.406). Filing does not require a lawyer or a form.
What to write down
The broker checks the complaint against its own records and the transportation company’s account. Specific facts make that check fast. Record:
- The trip: date, scheduled pickup time, the trip or confirmation number, pickup and drop-off addresses
- What happened, with times: when the rider was ready, when the vehicle arrived or did not, when you called and who you spoke with
- The vehicle and driver: the transportation company’s name, the vehicle’s color and type, a plate or fleet number if seen, the driver’s name if given
- The effect: a missed or late appointment, a rescheduled treatment, an injury, a missed dose
- Witnesses: staff at the pickup or drop-off who saw what happened
- What you want: a replacement ride, a different transportation company for this rider, retraining, a callback
Keep the tone factual. Here is an example of a complaint a clinic might send, with invented details:
Trip confirmation 55120, Tuesday, March 3. Scheduled pickup 7:15 a.m. at the patient’s home for an 8:00 dialysis chair time. The patient waited outside from 7:05. No vehicle arrived. Our front desk called the Where’s My Ride line at 7:45 and was told a van was 10 minutes away. The van arrived at 8:40, and the patient lost 40 minutes of treatment. This is the third late pickup for this patient in two weeks (February 18 and February 25). We ask that the broker review the assigned company’s performance on this standing order and call our charge nurse with the outcome.
Facilities that book many rides should log every complaint in one place, because a pattern is harder to dismiss than a single bad day. Georgia’s broker, for one, must analyze its complaints monthly for patterns and trends. Our complaint log template has the columns.
What happens after you file
Each program investigates and answers the person who complained. The timelines differ.
| Program | What the rules require |
|---|---|
| Managed care plans (federal) | Acknowledge each grievance, resolve it within the state’s deadline and no more than 90 calendar days, and notify the member in the way the state sets |
| Georgia | The broker calls the person who complained within 24 hours. It sends the state its written findings and the fixes it made within 5 business days. It also sends the complainant a written answer with what it found and did |
| Missouri | The broker acknowledges in writing within 10 business days, and its quality staff research and resolve each complaint and send the outcome to MO HealthNet |
| Virginia fee-for-service | MTM Health follows up by phone, email, or mail |
Complaints can change who drives. Georgia’s broker can be required to remove a transportation company or driver from service during an investigation or for retraining. Georgia’s broker also reports all complaints and incidents to the state monthly, by region, with the transportation company and the fix for each. Under federal managed care rules, plans must keep a record of every grievance and the state must review those records.
Taking it further
If the broker or plan does not fix the problem, go to the state. The state Medicaid agency is responsible for NEMT even when a broker or plan runs it.
- Missouri: MO HealthNet’s Constituent Services Unit, (800) 392-2161.
- Georgia: the DCH Member Contact Center, 1-866-211-0950. Georgia also requires the state to keep a toll-free line for service complaints from members and health care providers, and DCH staff may ride along on trips to check service.
- New York: the Department of Health at medtrans@health.ny.gov or 518-473-2160. New York also has a form for complaints about Medical Answering Services itself.
Two outside programs can help. States with Medicaid managed care must run a beneficiary support system (42 CFR 438.71). For members who use long-term services and supports, it must offer a place to take complaints about access to covered services and help with plan grievances and appeals. For residents of nursing homes and assisted living, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program works to resolve problems affecting their health, safety, welfare, and rights.
Riders do not lose rights by complaining. Missouri’s rules say a member’s exercise of their rights may not change how the broker, its transportation companies, or the state treat them. Virginia’s handbook promises members they can complain without fear of penalty or retaliation.
Where good records help everyone
A complaint is settled fastest when the trip has a clear record. Transportation companies that run on HealthRide can see where each driver is on a live map, and GPS miles and the route driven are saved on every trip. Riders and families can follow their driver live from a text link. See the live map.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I file a complaint on behalf of a patient or family member?
- In the programs covered here, yes. Missouri takes complaints from the member or anyone filing for them, and Georgia takes them from members, representatives, providers, and anyone else who reaches out to the broker. Managed care plans also accept a grievance from a provider or authorized representative who has the member's written permission, if state law permits. Have the member's date of birth and trip details ready. Virginia's broker, for one, checks the caller against the date of birth and two other details.
- Will complaining affect the rider's future rides?
- It should not. Missouri's rules say using a right, including filing a complaint, may not change how the broker, its transportation companies, or the state treat the member. Virginia's fee-for-service handbook promises members they can complain without fear of penalty or retaliation. If a rider's service changes after a complaint, report that too.
- Is there a deadline to file a complaint?
- In managed care, no. Federal rules let a member file a grievance with the plan at any time. Virginia's broker asks for complaints as soon as possible, and the details are easier to check while the trip is recent. Civil rights complaints are different: the HHS Office for Civil Rights generally needs them within 180 days.
- The driver never came and the patient missed the appointment. What should we do?
- First call the broker's late-ride line for a replacement ride or to rebook, and note the time you called. Then file a complaint that includes the missed appointment. CMS says members should know how to report a no-show and get a replacement, and Medicaid does not pay a transportation company for a ride it never gave. Missouri's broker records whether the facility called its Where's My Ride line, so call it at the time.
- What is the difference between a complaint and an appeal?
- A complaint is about how a ride went: lateness, a no-show, a rude driver, a dirty van. An appeal is a challenge to a decision, like a refused or reduced ride, and it runs on strict deadlines. Missouri sends complaints to the broker and denials to a state fair hearing. When a ride was refused, see the appeal steps rather than filing only a complaint.
- Who handles a complaint about discrimination or a wheelchair not being accommodated?
- File with the broker or plan, and consider a civil rights complaint too. Medicaid transportation is covered by disability and national origin protections, including Section 504, the ADA, and Section 1557. A complaint to the HHS Office for Civil Rights generally must be filed within 180 days of the event, unless the office extends the time.
