What do NEMT trip statuses mean?
A NEMT trip status is the stage a ride has reached: scheduled, assigned, en route, arrived, picked up, dropped off, completed, or closed out as a no-show or cancellation. Each change stamps a time. Brokers use those times to check on-time pickups and whether trip minutes fit the miles billed, and MTM Health denies a claim when the trip is not in completed status.
On this page
The statuses, in order
Brokers and dispatch systems label the steps differently, but a ride passes through roughly these stages. Each status change should record the clock time and, on a phone with location on, where the vehicle was.
| Status | What it means | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled | The broker or payer authorized the ride and it has a trip number | The scheduled pickup or appointment time |
| Assigned | A driver and vehicle are set for it | Who is responsible for the ride |
| En route | The driver is heading to the pickup | Departure toward the rider |
| Arrived | The vehicle is at the pickup address | Arrival time, which starts the wait clock |
| Picked up | The rider is aboard | Actual pickup time; loaded miles begin |
| Dropped off | The rider is at the destination | Drop-off time; loaded miles end |
| Completed | The trip is closed with all required data | Signature and final times; ready to bill |
| No-show | The rider was not there after the required wait | Arrival time and the length of the wait |
| Canceled | The ride was called off before pickup | Who canceled and when |
MTM Health uses its own words for two of these. Its Rhode Island bulk upload asks for “Scheduled, Arrive, and Perform” times at both pickup and drop-off, so the record keeps the van’s arrival apart from the time the pickup or drop-off itself was done.
Broker trips can carry two more labels. A turned back trip is one the provider handed back to the broker because it could not run it. MTM Health’s Rhode Island handbook allows a turnback only 24 hours or more before the appointment, and never on a same-day trip. A will-call return has no set pickup time and waits for the rider’s call.
Why statuses decide payment
A completed status alone does not get a trip paid. Under MTM Health’s current handbooks for Virginia and Rhode Island, each claim rests on an electronic log holding five data points and a signature:
- The trip ID.
- When pickup was scheduled.
- When pickup actually happened.
- When the vehicle left.
- When it reached the destination.
The member signs, and the trip has to show as completed at the moment the claim is filed. A gap in any of it gets the claim denied.
The same times feed the broker’s scorecard. MTM Health’s provider handbook for Virginia fee-for-service trips from October 1, 2026 measures:
- Timeliness: above 95 percent of pickups within 15 minutes either side of the scheduled time.
- Miles vs. minutes: a fraud, waste and abuse check comparing documented trip time with miles billed, kept under 0.99 percent of trips.
- Overlapping claims: time stamps showing a driver on two vans at once, or a van with two drivers at once.
- GPS compliance: above 90.01 percent of trips tracked by compatible GPS software.
State programs ask for the same facts on paper. Arizona’s fee-for-service daily trip report needs the pickup and drop-off clock times, with a.m. or p.m., and odometer readings at both ends. The trip log entry covers what else belongs on the record.
No-shows and cancellations
Closing a trip as a no-show or a cancellation is a status decision with money attached. Rhode Island’s MTM handbook says a driver need not wait more than 10 minutes past the scheduled pickup and should phone or text the member before driving off. CareOregon requires the driver to notify dispatch before leaving, and the provider to report each no-show to the brokerage. A cancellation made too close to pickup may count as a late cancellation under the broker’s rules. Arrival time and wait length are the evidence either way, which is why the arrived status matters as much as the completed one.
Tracking statuses in HealthRide
HealthRide’s live map shows every vehicle with ETAs and late warnings while trips are underway. Trip records keep the timestamps, GPS-recorded miles, and signatures, plus the recorded wait time on each no-show.
Frequently asked questions
- How does arrived differ from picked up?
- Arrived means the vehicle reached the pickup address. Picked up means the rider is on board and the loaded trip has started. The gap between them is the time the driver waited. MTM Health's trip logs ask for both an arrive time and a perform time at pickup, and again at drop-off.
- Why do brokers care about the exact times?
- They are the proof of service and the basis of the broker's checks. MTM Health's Virginia handbook gives drivers a window of 15 minutes either side of the scheduled pickup, and it compares documented trip minutes with miles billed to spot trips that do not add up. Missing times, or a trip not in completed status, mean a denied claim.
- Is a no-show a paid status?
- Usually not. CMS guidance (SMD 23-006) says federal Medicaid matching funds are not available for trips where the member did not show. What a provider must do is document it correctly. CareOregon's manual bars drivers from leaving a pickup without telling dispatch, and providers must report every no-show to the brokerage.
- Can dispatch mark a trip complete for the driver?
- Check your broker's rules first. MTM Health's Rhode Island handbook accepts cancellations and no-shows only from its own driver app, and its Virginia handbook expects every trip to be tracked by compatible GPS software, with a standard above 90 percent. Times typed in later are harder to defend than times the driver's phone recorded on the spot.
