How to become a SafeRide Health transportation provider in 2026
To become a SafeRide Health transportation provider, fill out the network application on its What to Expect as a NEMT Provider page with a real NPI. You need $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate general liability, $500,000 auto liability, and SafeRide as additional insured. Drivers need background, sex offender, and driving record checks, a pre-hire drug screen, first aid or CPR, defensive driving, and wheelchair securement training.
On this page
Who SafeRide Health is
SafeRide Health is a technology-led NEMT broker for Medicaid and Medicare Advantage health plans. It was founded in 2016 and is based in San Antonio, Texas. Robbins Schrader is CEO and co-founder. The company is privately held and venture backed, with a Series C round led by Sands Capital.
SafeRide grew fast. It says it was managing more than 1 million rides a month as of January 2026, more than 12 million a year, and has been profitable since 2024. Its network counts more than 1,000 credentialed transportation providers, plus rideshare and public transit. SafeRide reports a 97.3 percent on-time rate across its rides.
Unlike state brokers that hold one contract per state, SafeRide mostly works plan by plan. The same fleet can take SafeRide trips for one plan and another broker’s trips for a different plan in the same county.
Where SafeRide Health operates in 2026
Texas is SafeRide’s home market and its largest. Elsewhere it serves individual plans.
| State | Plans SafeRide serves | Start date |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Superior HealthPlan Medicaid | June 1, 2021 |
| Texas | Driscoll Health Plan Medicaid | March 1, 2022 |
| Texas | Community First Health Plans (Medicaid and Medicare) | April 1, 2025 |
| Texas | UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas | January 1, 2026 |
| Michigan | Meridian Health Plan Medicaid and Wellcare by Meridian | May 1, 2024 |
| Ohio | Buckeye Health Plan Medicaid and MyCare Ohio | July 1, 2024 |
| Kansas | Sunflower Health Plan | November 1, 2024 |
| Kansas | UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas | Current plan |
| Virginia | UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Virginia (Cardinal Care) | March 1, 2026 |
| Several states | Humana Medicare Advantage | January 1, 2025 |
SafeRide also runs the Medicare Advantage transportation benefit for KelseyCare Advantage in the Houston area. For other plans it handles mileage reimbursement, where members or family drive and SafeRide books the trip and pays back the miles. Those include SCAN (since March 1, 2025), Molina Healthcare of Texas, Texas Children’s Health Plan, Molina Healthcare of Michigan, and SilverSummit Healthplan in Nevada. Plans switch vendors with a few months’ notice, so confirm the plan’s current vendor before you plan around it.
How to become a SafeRide Health transportation provider
The application lives on SafeRide’s What to Expect as a NEMT Provider page.
- Fill out the network application. It asks for the owner’s contact details and license, your NPI and EIN, your Medicaid status and provider number if you have one, your auto and general liability limits, the dispatch software you use, the states and counties you serve, and your dispatch hours. Use a real NPI, or the form will not go through. An application not finished within 30 days has to start over.
- Send credentialing documents. SafeRide needs company, vehicle, and driver files before you run a ride. The list is in the next section.
- Onboard with your network vendor manager. A dedicated manager completes onboarding, sets up your accounts, and tracks your performance after launch. Expect weekly provider meetings with that manager and quarterly town halls.
- Set up the apps. Your account owner gets an invite to SafeRide’s web application for dispatch. Drivers download the SafeRide Health app and log in with a device ID and a personal PIN.
Every document must stay current. Drivers with expired documents cannot take SafeRide trips until they renew, and SafeRide expects a 48-hour turnaround on any compliance request.
SafeRide Health requirements
| Area | What SafeRide asks for |
|---|---|
| Company | Licensed to operate NEMT in your service area |
| General liability | At least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate |
| Auto liability | At least $500,000 |
| Additional insured | SafeRide named on the certificate and included on commercial and auto policies |
| Vehicles | Registration and insurance cards for each vehicle |
| Drivers | Driver’s license, Social Security card, national background check, national sex offender registry check, motor vehicle report, pre-hire drug screen |
| Driver training | First aid, CPR, or AED training, defensive driving, passenger assistance, wheelchair securement |
| State checks | State background and state sex offender registry checks where required |
Once you are in, five standards decide whether you stay:
| Standard | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Ride response rate | 100 percent |
| Ride acceptance rate | 95 percent |
| On-time rate | 95 percent |
| Complaint rate | Under 1 percent |
| Kickback rate (rides handed back) | Under 5 percent |
How trips reach you
SafeRide offers rides through its web application. There are two kinds of requests:
- Next Day rides are booked more than a day ahead. They show up stacked by day in the Live Rides tab, where you assign them to drivers or view them on a calendar and map.
- On Demand rides are same-day requests. They pop up as an alert in the Live Chat tab, where you confirm the ride or suggest a change.
SafeRide expects you to confirm next-day rides you can realistically run by 2 p.m. local time, accept at least half of same-day requests, and look five days ahead to confirm as many future rides as you can. If you cancel a ride or a member does not show, call SafeRide. Drivers tap Begin Ride in the app when they head to the pickup, which tells SafeRide the vehicle is inbound.
Volume follows performance. SafeRide assigns rides based on vehicle capacity, service area, cost, and how well you meet service levels. Top performers can join the Tier 1 program, which comes with an agreed monthly volume, weekly scorecards, and priority access to extra rides in the markets they want.
How SafeRide Health pays providers
SafeRide requires trips to be billed daily. Each claim needs timestamps plus the driver and vehicle who ran the trip, so SafeRide can confirm the trip happened and met service levels. Payment for completed rides comes within 30 days of a properly completed ride.
Tier 1 providers get a guaranteed payment turnaround and automated claims submission. SafeRide uses regional pricing, and rates are set in your contract.
Two compliance clocks matter for payment and for staying in the network. Report an accident or incident with injury or property damage within one hour, and any other incident within 24 hours. Answer complaint and grievance requests within 24 hours.
The Texas audit below is a reminder that authorization matters. Keep the prior authorization or trip number with every trip record.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- April 1, 2025. Community First Health Plans moves its Medicaid and Medicare members to SafeRide from MTM Health.
- September 4, 2025. The Texas HHSC Office of Inspector General publishes audit AUD-26-002 of SafeRide’s work for Superior HealthPlan’s STAR+PLUS members from September 2022 to August 2023. It found required prior authorizations missing for 38 of 58 trips tested and 31,149 of 379,920 trips paid incorrectly, and it said SafeRide should repay $515,890.65 to the state.
- January 1, 2026. UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas moves its NEMT to SafeRide.
- January 2026. SafeRide passes 1 million rides a month.
- September 2026. SafeRide marks 10 years in business.
SafeRide Health provider contacts
- New and prospective providers: team@saferidehealth.com or (855) 955-7433
- Network application: the form on the What to Expect as a NEMT Provider page
- Current providers: your dedicated network account manager
- Provider login: app.saferidehealth.com
Meeting SafeRide’s documentation bar
SafeRide pays on daily trip records with timestamps, driver, and vehicle. HealthRide’s driver app timestamps every pickup and drop-off, ties each trip to the driver and vehicle that ran it, records GPS miles, and captures signatures on screen. The trip log exports as CSV or PDF from reports when a broker needs backup.
Frequently asked questions
- What insurance does SafeRide Health require?
- SafeRide asks for commercial general liability of at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, auto liability of at least $500,000, and SafeRide named as additional insured on the certificate. It also requires SafeRide to be included on both your commercial and auto policies, plus vehicle registration and insurance for every vehicle.
- How fast does SafeRide pay?
- SafeRide's provider guide says it pays completed rides within 30 days of a properly completed ride. Trips must be billed daily with timestamps and driver and vehicle details. Providers in its Tier 1 program get a guaranteed payment turnaround and automated claims submission.
- What performance does SafeRide expect?
- To stay in the network, SafeRide requires a 100 percent ride response rate, a 95 percent ride acceptance rate, a 95 percent on-time rate, a complaint rate under 1 percent, and a kickback rate under 5 percent. It also expects next-day rides to be confirmed by 2 p.m. local time and at least half of same-day requests accepted.
- Which health plans use SafeRide Health?
- SafeRide works for Medicaid and Medicare Advantage plans. In Texas it runs NEMT for Superior HealthPlan, Driscoll Health Plan, Community First Health Plans, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan. It also serves Meridian in Michigan, Buckeye in Ohio, Sunflower and UnitedHealthcare in Kansas, and Humana Medicare Advantage members in several states. Other plans, such as Molina Healthcare of Texas and Texas Children's Health Plan, use SafeRide for mileage reimbursement.
- Can I apply to SafeRide without a Medicaid provider number?
- The application asks whether you are approved for Medicaid rides and lets you answer that you are interested but have no application in process. It does require a real NPI. An application left unfinished for 30 days has to be restarted.
