How to become a MAS transportation provider in New York (2026)
To become a MAS transportation provider, submit the MAS Transportation Provider Network Application. MAS decides whether to issue a letter of support, which eMedNY requires for Medicaid transportation enrollment. You then enroll in eMedNY under your vehicle's category of service, pay the $750 application fee for 2026, and sign the MAS network contract. MAS assigns trips, you attest each one within 30 days, and Medicaid pays you through eMedNY.
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Who MAS is
Medical Answering Services, LLC, known as MAS, is the New York State Department of Health’s Medicaid transportation broker. It started in 2004, when founder and president Russ Maxwell began providing fee-for-service Medicaid transportation services in Onondaga County. It passed its 100 millionth trip in 2020.
Today MAS covers both Department of Health regions and all 62 counties, a Medicaid population of more than 7 million people. It coordinates about 15 million trips a year. The Department of Health contracts MAS to schedule trips, run the contact centers, and handle utilization review and other administrative work for the program.
MAS is different from most NEMT brokers in one way that matters to a new fleet: it does not pay you. New York Medicaid pays transportation providers directly through eMedNY. MAS manages the network, assigns the trips, and controls the authorization you need to bill.
Where MAS operates in 2026
MAS works only in New York, and there it covers everyone.
| Population | How rides are arranged |
|---|---|
| Fee-for-service Medicaid | Through MAS statewide |
| Medicaid managed care plan members | Through MAS. The Department of Health requires plan members and fee-for-service members alike to book with MAS |
| Managed long-term care and Medicaid Advantage Plus | Through MAS since March 1, 2024, paid as fee-for-service |
| Fidelis Care members in Rockland County | Through MAS since April 1, 2026 |
Enrollees call the MAS contact center for their region (844-666-6270 downstate, 866-932-7740 upstate) or book online. Routine trips should be booked at least 72 hours ahead, and riders who use public transit should call at least five days ahead so MAS can mail the pass. Sick visits and urgent care can be arranged on shorter notice, and the contact center handles discharges and urgent requests around the clock.
How to become a MAS transportation provider
The order matters in New York. You cannot enroll in Medicaid as a transportation provider until MAS supports you.
- Get the operating authority for your vehicle type. Ambulettes, taxis, liveries, and TNC vehicles each have their own license path. Inside New York City that includes the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Our New York guide covers each one.
- Submit the MAS Transportation Provider Network Application. MAS’s Transportation Provider Relations team reviews it and decides whether to issue a letter of support.
- Enroll in eMedNY. eMedNY requires the MAS letter of support for transportation enrollment. Pick the category of service that matches your vehicles: 0602 ambulette, 0603 taxi (upstate only), 0605 livery or black car (New York City only), 0606 OPWDD transport, or 0609 transportation network company. The 2026 application fee is $750. Submit the application within 45 days of starting it, or it is deleted. A determination can take 90 days or longer.
- Sign the MAS network contract. Once eMedNY approves you and you have the confirmation letter, contact MAS provider relations to join the network and meet its contract requirements.
- Get MAS system access. MAS issues login instructions only after your eMedNY approval and a fully signed MAS contract.
MAS requirements
MAS applies New York’s rules plus its own network requirements. Three stand out.
- GPS on every trip. Since April 3, 2023, the Department of Health requires every trip’s starting point, end point, and all GPS coordinates along the way, called breadcrumb data, to be sent to MAS. GPS data in the wrong format blocks the prior authorization for that trip. You can send it through dispatch software MAS accepts or through a free GPS app MAS offers.
- Driver safety processes. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, every driver needs a valid license and must not be excluded by the HHS Inspector General. Every transportation provider also needs a documented process to address any violation of a state drug law by its drivers and a process to disclose each driver’s driving history, including traffic violations, to the state Medicaid program.
- Trip changes. Never change a MAS trip at the request of an enrollee or a medical office. Changes must be authorized through MAS, or the invoice may not be processed. MAS also asks providers to get enrollees to appointments on time but not more than 60 minutes early.
Our guide to NEMT documentation requirements covers the trip records New York expects you to keep.
How trips reach you
MAS assigns trips in a set order:
- Providers in a Preferred Provider Opportunity with the medical practice, where one exists
- The enrollee’s choice of provider within the mode of transport
- The medical provider’s choice, when the practice booked the trip
- Otherwise, a random pick among qualified providers with availability
You see your assigned trips in the MAS system’s Trip Roster. Every change in the system is signed and time-stamped. MAS often cancels trips when it learns an enrollee lost eligibility, but you still have to check eligibility on the date of transport.
Good service is how you grow. MAS points to on-time pickups, reminder calls, clean vehicles, and joining Preferred Provider Opportunities as what earns more assignments.
How MAS trips get paid
Billing in New York runs in four steps:
- MAS sends the trip to you.
- You run the trip and attest it in the MAS system.
- MAS receives a prior authorization number from eMedNY and sends it to you.
- You bill eMedNY with that number, and Medicaid pays you at the transportation fee schedule.
Two deadlines apply. Attest within 30 days of the date of service, not counting time spent on a correction request. Then submit the claim within 90 days of the date of service under 18 NYCRR 540.6, unless the delay is outside your control. When eligibility is approved retroactively, you can attest up to 120 days from the date the eligibility shows in the verification system. If a claim is rejected, MAS asks you to wait until the third business day before acting, because most rejections get resolved in MAS’s systems first.
Medicaid does not pay for no-shows. It pays only when the enrollee is transported and receives a Medicaid service. Rate change requests for the fee schedule go through the MAS provider hotline.
What changed in 2024 to 2026
- March 1, 2024. Managed long-term care and Medicaid Advantage Plus members move to MAS, with rides covered as fee-for-service.
- April 1, 2026. MAS takes over transportation for Fidelis Care members in Rockland County.
MAS provider contacts
- Transportation provider hotline: 866-242-2578, business days 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Issues and support: tpissues@medanswering.com, or the online issue form on the provider relations page
- GPS setup: TPrelations@medanswering.com
- Department of Health: medtrans@health.ny.gov
Keeping trip records that match
New York requires GPS data on every MAS trip, so your own trip records should line up with what you attest. HealthRide’s driver app records GPS miles and timestamps for every pickup and drop-off and captures signatures on screen. The trip log exports as CSV or PDF from reports, so each trip has backup when an invoice is questioned.
Frequently asked questions
- Does MAS pay transportation providers?
- No. MAS manages New York's Medicaid transportation network, but Medicaid pays you. After you attest a completed trip in the MAS system, MAS obtains a prior authorization number from eMedNY and passes it to you. You then bill eMedNY with that number at the Medicaid fee schedule rate.
- Can I enroll in eMedNY without MAS?
- No. eMedNY requires a letter of support from Medical Answering Services for transportation enrollment. MAS reviews your network application and decides whether to issue it.
- What is the deadline to attest a MAS trip?
- You have 30 days from the date of service to attest the trip in the MAS system, not counting the time a correction request takes. Medicaid's claiming rule then gives you 90 days from the date of service to submit the claim, unless the delay is outside your control, such as pending eligibility.
- How does MAS decide which provider gets a trip?
- MAS assigns trips first by Preferred Provider Opportunity arrangements, then by the enrollee's choice of provider within the mode, then by the medical provider's choice when the practice booked the ride. If none of those apply, MAS picks at random among qualified providers with availability.
- Does Medicaid pay for a no-show on a MAS trip?
- No. Medicaid pays for transportation only when the enrollee is transported and receives a Medicaid service. Confirm rides ahead of time and check the enrollee's eligibility on the date of transport.
