Hopelink provider guide: Apple Health rides in King and Snohomish counties
Hopelink, a nonprofit community action agency, arranges Apple Health rides that start in King and Snohomish counties under contract with the Washington Health Care Authority. To apply, a company needs a year or more of NEMT work, at least five vehicles, and a physical office inside the state. The partner application goes to Hopelink's contracts team, which takes up to 30 days to review it.
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Hopelink’s place in Washington’s ride program
Hopelink brokers Apple Health rides across King and Snohomish counties, a role it has held since 1990 and now fills under contract with the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA). The nonprofit also runs food, housing, and adult literacy programs. As a broker, its job is to screen each ride request and pay for the least costly option that works, and a subcontracted company gets the trip only when the rider needs a vehicle. HCA’s contract bars the broker from driving Medicaid trips itself.
Washington splits the state among six regional brokers, and each one signs its own providers. Ride companies contract with the broker, not with HCA, so a subcontract with Hopelink is how a company carries Apple Health riders whose trips begin in these two counties. Riders cannot pick their provider or their mode (WAC 182-546-5000), which means the work comes through Hopelink rather than from marketing to riders. Our Washington state guide covers the other five brokers and the state licensing steps.
The volume is large. Hopelink counted 759,579 brokered trips during fiscal year 2025 (July 2024 through June 2025), and 33,757 Medicaid recipients got a ride or other travel help. Not all of those trips reach a van. Riders who can drive get gas cards, riders who can take transit get an ORCA card, and Hopelink also books rideshare trips when medical documentation supports it. Door-to-door vehicle service, which is a shared-ride service, goes to riders with a documented disability that limits their use of those options.
Who Hopelink will consider
Hopelink asks companies to confirm three minimums before they submit anything.
| Minimum | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| NEMT experience | At least one year of non-emergency medical transportation work, plus every license Washington requires for the work |
| Fleet size | Five or more vehicles |
| Office | An established physical office located in Washington State |
For most for-profit fleets, “every license” includes a Washington business license and for-hire authority from the Department of Licensing (DOL). Each vehicle needs a $55 DOL for-hire certificate, and a $110 for-hire permit applies where the local city or county has no for-hire business licensing. King County runs its own for-hire licensing and signs off on every for-hire company along with its drivers and vehicles, so check with its licensing office which of your vans and drivers need county approval. The insurance certificate filed with DOL has to show a combined single limit of at least $325,000 (or $300,000/$100,000/$25,000 in split limits), and the business name and DBA must match across the application, registrations, and insurance, or processing stalls.
A one-van startup does not qualify yet. Our guide on starting with one van covers private pay and facility work that can build the year of experience Hopelink wants.
The partner application
Hopelink’s partner application is a three-page form. It is a preliminary screening, and signing it creates no contract. Here is what it asks for, so you can gather everything before you sit down.
| Section | Details requested |
|---|---|
| Company | Legal name, mailing address, business email, state business license and for-hire license numbers, federal tax ID, and the type and number of every other business license you hold |
| Locations and ties | Office locations, and any link to other transportation companies through shared ownership, facilities, or phone lines |
| Phones | Administrative and dispatch phone and fax numbers |
| History | Years in business, years providing transportation in the Puget Sound region, and the types of service you offer |
| Staff | Headcount split into administrative, dispatch, drivers, and other |
| Ownership | Owners, operators, and investors, each with title and percent of ownership |
| Fleet | One line per vehicle type, covering make and model, how many you run, mileage, age, whether it has a lift, configuration, and capacity |
| Service area | Where you drive today, where you would drive for Hopelink, and your operating hours in each area |
| Contact | The person handling the application and contract process |
Send questions to transportationcontracts@hopelink.org, which Hopelink uses for all partner correspondence. The form directs completed applications to the contracts team at Hopelink’s Bellevue address (see Contacts below). Hopelink confirms receipt, reviews for up to 30 days, and asks applicants not to call during that time unless they are withdrawing. It then tells you whether you can move on to contract talks.
Terms every Hopelink subcontract carries
In Exhibit I, HCA’s sample broker contract lists the clauses every broker has to include when it signs a provider. Expect to see these in Hopelink’s agreement.
| Term | What HCA requires |
|---|---|
| Payment timing | The broker has 10 calendar days from the arrival of its monthly HCA payment to pay you |
| Rates | The payment method and rates are written into the subcontract, with rate adjustments allowed at least quarterly |
| Appointment falls through | Authorized trips where the rider could not be seen, through no fault of yours, earn a negotiated fair rate |
| Appeals | Providers get an appeals process |
| Unauthorized drivers or vehicles | Money for any trip run by an unapproved driver or vehicle goes back within 30 days of discovery |
| Records | For six years once the subcontract is over, the broker can inspect your service, billing, and accounting files |
| No extra billing | No payment sought from HCA, riders, or other contracted providers for subcontracted trips |
| Ethics | No kickbacks, rebates, gifts, or cash to the broker in exchange for referrals |
| Insurance | For-hire licensed providers carry at least the legal minimum. Providers outside public regulation carry the same types and limits HCA requires of brokers, including $1 million per occurrence ($2 million aggregate) in general liability and a $1 million combined single limit on auto liability. |
| Employer duties | Workers compensation, unemployment insurance, and state and local taxes stay current |
When the broker returns a bill for clarification or backup, the sample contract gives the provider an extra 60 calendar days to send it back. Our guide to billing NEMT brokers covers how to keep those returns rare.
Drivers and vehicles
HCA’s contract puts driver screening on the broker, and the broker passes it to you.
- Before the first trip. Each driver has a valid license, a driving record abstract (ADR), and insurance on file.
- Background checks. Every new driver is fingerprinted for a criminal history check by the Washington State Patrol, redone every third year, and a WATCH name check covers the years between. A WATCH report can clear a new hire to start while fingerprint results are pending. Reviewers apply RCW 43.43.830 and the DSHS Secretary’s List of disqualifying crimes (WAC 388-113-0020).
- Exclusion screening. WAC 182-546-5200 makes brokers check you and your staff for federal exclusions, both before signing and continuously afterward. Run the OIG exclusion list check yourself before you hire.
- Training. Commercial drivers learn child safety seat installation and use. HCA also recommends CPR and first aid, a passenger assistance course such as ADAPT or PAT, fire suppression, and defensive driving.
Vehicles meet DOL licensing, state and federal safety rules, and ADA standards. Each one needs a working two-way link to dispatch, heat and ventilation, clean belts for every seat, the company name and vehicle number on display, and devices to secure wheelchairs. Vehicle types in Hopelink’s vendor fleets include sedans, passenger vans, minibuses, stretcher vehicles, and lift or ramp vehicles, and some vendors lend a wheelchair for the trip. Hopelink tells riders that every vehicle has room for a personal oxygen tank, so plan space for one. Our background check guide explains the Washington checks in more depth.
How trips run for Hopelink riders
Hopelink’s rider brochure sets expectations your drivers have to meet.
- Pickup window. Riders get a 30-minute window and should be ready five minutes ahead of it. The driver waits five minutes, counted from the start of the window if the car is early, then may leave.
- Door-to-door limits. Drivers meet riders at the main door of a home or the main lobby of a building. They do not go inside homes or past the lobby. A rider who needs help beyond that brings an escort, because drivers are not medically trained.
- Routes and changes. Drivers take the shortest efficient route and cannot take a detour at a rider’s request. Any change of time or address goes through Hopelink, not the driver.
- Riders stay with the broker. Riders are told to phone Hopelink for any cancellation, change, or status check, never the provider.
- Wheelchair size. Hopelink’s request forms define a standard wheelchair as 48 by 30 inches, measured wheel to wheel, and ask riders to mark anything else as XL. Requests for more than three riders can cause delays.
- Standing orders. A separate repeat trip form covers appointments on the same weekday and time every week, such as a standing order for dialysis.
On-time and pay standards
HCA’s performance standards (Exhibit G of the sample contract) tie service quality to payment.
| Standard | Limit |
|---|---|
| Pickup for an appointment | Average wait of 15 minutes or less, and never over 30 |
| Early arrival | No earlier than 30 minutes ahead of the appointment time, except at the rider’s request |
| Return after an appointment | Average wait of 30 minutes or less |
| Shared rides | Onboard time up to 45 minutes over a direct trip, in normal conditions |
| Will-call returns | Not held to these limits, and riders are warned that waits run longer |
A trip that gets the rider to the clinic too late to be seen goes unpaid. Payment is still possible if the cause was beyond your control, such as an unforeseeable crash that stopped all traffic, but construction slowdowns do not count. Under WAC 182-546-6000, every nonambulance trip needs the broker’s authorization in advance, apart from the after-hours urgent care and discharge cases in WAC 182-546-5200.
Brokers must confirm no fewer than one trip in ten with the medical provider before the ride, and review another one in ten afterward. Each desk audit pulls a random sample of at least 10 trips per provider. They also check 10 percent of your vehicles and drivers each year, alternating between on-site checks (odd years) and desk audits (even years) and rotating which ones, and every second year they visit your office to make sure rider files and manifests are locked down. Our broker audit guide shows how to prepare.
Growth openings in Hopelink’s region
HCA’s December 2024 legislative report points to three openings, two of them in King County.
- Rideshare overflow. In August 2024, HCA authorized the King County broker to pilot rideshare drivers for overflow, recovery, and last-minute requests. The same report notes that rideshare drivers are not vetted or trained for this work, which leaves room for providers who can take short-notice trips.
- Hospital desks. The report describes transportation desks at three high-traffic Seattle hospitals, funded jointly by the broker and each hospital, where riders request a ride in person and wait for their return trip.
- Stretcher trips. Since May 2021, an HCA pilot has let brokers place stretcher trips with private companies instead of ambulances. HCA names insurance cost and uneven trip volume as the barriers to growing it.
Contacts
| Purpose | Contact |
|---|---|
| Partner applications and contract questions | transportationcontracts@hopelink.org |
| Application mailing address | 14812 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98007 (Hopelink Transportation, attention Contracts) |
| Reservations, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 800-923-7433 (King) or 855-766-7433 (Snohomish); fax 425-644-9447 |
| Ride status and cancellations | 800-595-2172 (King) or 888-913-2172 (Snohomish) |
| Hopelink main line | 425-869-6000 |
| HCA NEMT program | hcanemttrans@hca.wa.gov |
Keeping standing orders on track
Hopelink’s repeat trip form books the same weekday and time across a date range. In HealthRide, a recurring trip is scheduled once and stays on your board every week. Each leg keeps its GPS-verified miles, pickup and drop-off times, and any recorded no-show wait, ready for Hopelink’s trip reviews.
Frequently asked questions
- Hopelink's entry bar: which minimums must a company meet first?
- Three things, confirmed before you send anything: a year or more of NEMT work plus every license Washington requires, at least five vehicles, and an established office inside the state. A company that falls short on any of the three should build up first. Next door, Paratransit Services brokers Pierce and eight other western counties and subcontracts with fleets as small as one vehicle.
- How long is Hopelink's review of a partner application?
- Allow up to 30 days after submission. Hopelink acknowledges receipt, asks applicants not to call during that window unless they are withdrawing, and then says whether you can move on to contract talks. The application is a preliminary screening, so passing it does not create a contract by itself.
- Does Apple Health pay me directly for the trips Hopelink sends?
- No. Brokers pay only providers they have subcontracted (WAC 182-546-6200), and HCA's required subcontract terms bar providers from seeking payment from HCA, from riders, or from other contracted providers for those trips. You bill Hopelink, which then has 10 calendar days from the arrival of its monthly HCA payment to pay you.
- Who sets the rates Hopelink pays?
- The rate is negotiated between Hopelink and your company. Washington's Medicaid agency sets no statewide NEMT rates, because geography is a major factor in what a trip reasonably costs, so pricing is left to each broker and its providers. HCA's required subcontract terms also call for rates that can be adjusted at least once a quarter.
- How long does a Hopelink driver wait for a rider?
- Five minutes. Hopelink gives riders a 30-minute pickup window and asks them to be set to go five minutes early. When a vehicle arrives early, the five minutes count from the start of the window. A rider who has not boarded by then must phone Hopelink for another car, and that can take one to two hours.
- Can a Hopelink provider take trips that start in Pierce County or elsewhere?
- Not through Hopelink. The county where a ride begins decides which broker arranges it, and Hopelink covers only rides that begin in King or Snohomish County. Pickups in Pierce County belong to Paratransit Services, so a Seattle-area fleet that wants that work signs a second subcontract there.
- What happens when a rider needs a ride after Hopelink's office closes?
- Hopelink takes urgent ride requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week, though riders may wait one to two hours. For urgent care and hospital discharges when a broker cannot authorize in advance, WAC 182-546-5200 lets a subcontracted provider either take the ride as the broker's after-hours rules direct, then request after-the-fact approval inside two business days, or refuse it.
