How to become a NEMT provider in Florida: SMMC brokers, AHCA enrollment, and rules

Updated September 2026

Florida Medicaid rides run through the health plans. Each Statewide Medicaid Managed Care plan hires its own transportation vendor, so the broker that pays you depends on the member's plan: Modivcare, MTM Health, Alivi, or Ride2MD. Fee-for-service members use Modivcare or MTM Health by region under a state waiver. Florida has no statewide NEMT license, but the big counties require one, and AHCA enrollment requires $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident in liability coverage.

Florida NEMT at a glance

Runs the program
Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA)
Program
Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) transportation benefit, plus a fee-for-service NEMT waiver
How rides are arranged
Health plans each contract a broker. Each SMMC health plan contracts a transportation vendor for its members. Fee-for-service members use one of two regional brokers.
Brokers you will contract with
Modivcare, MTM Health, Alivi, Ride2MD
State operating license
None statewide. Counties license non-emergency transport, for example Miami-Dade, Broward, and Hillsborough.
EVV for NEMT trips
Not required
Medicaid enrollment
3,877,393 (July 2026)

How Medicaid NEMT works in Florida

The Agency for Health Care Administration runs Florida Medicaid. Since February 1, 2025 the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program (SMMC 3.0) covers most members across nine lettered regions, A through I, and non-emergency transportation is a minimum covered service for every Managed Medical Assistance and Long-Term Care plan. Each plan meets that duty by contracting one transportation vendor, which takes reservations, assigns trips, and pays the transportation companies.

Members who remain in fee-for-service Medicaid get rides through a separate 1915(b) transportation waiver, renewed for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027. AHCA contracts two regional brokers for it: Modivcare for regions A, G, H, and I, and MTM Health for regions B through F. Every fee-for-service trip is authorized by the broker and every claim goes to the broker, at a negotiated rate.

AHCA's coverage policy sets service standards providers live with: no reservation requirement longer than three business days, no advance-notice requirement for urgent trips, no trip caps or zones, and escorts allowed for children and for members who are blind, deaf, or have a mental health or intellectual disability. Members owe a $1 copay per trip unless exempt or the plan waives it.

Governing rule: Rule 59G-4.330: Florida Medicaid non-emergency transportation services coverage policy

Who brokers Medicaid rides in Florida

Four vendors hold the Florida Medicaid transportation contracts. AHCA's quarterly Administrative Subcontractors and Affiliates report lists each plan's vendor.

BrokerServesSinceProvider sign-up
ModivcareAetna Better Health of Florida, Community Care Plan, and Humana Healthy Horizons. Fee-for-service broker for regions A, G, H, and I (the Panhandle, the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade and Monroe).Provider page

866-726-1457 (fee-for-service member line)

MTM HealthUnitedHealthcare Community Plan (since March 1, 2026), Molina Healthcare of Florida, and CMS Health Plan. Fee-for-service broker for regions B through F (North, Central, and Southwest Florida). MTM rebranded as MTM Health on February 4, 2025 and absorbed Access2Care.

CMS Health Plan moves from Sunshine Health to Molina Healthcare on October 1, 2026.

Provider page

844-239-5974 (fee-for-service member line)

AliviSunshine Health, including its child welfare and serious mental illness specialty plans.January 1, 2025Provider page
Ride2MDSimply Healthcare Plans, Clear Health Alliance, and Florida Community Care.

Plans switch vendors with a few months' notice, as UnitedHealthcare did in March 2026 and Sunshine Health did in January 2025. Check the plan's own transportation page before you contract.

AmeriHealth Caritas Florida left Florida Medicaid when its contract ended on January 31, 2025.

How to become a NEMT provider in Florida

Most Florida providers get trips through broker credentialing rather than direct Medicaid billing, but AHCA still requires every transportation provider in a plan network to enroll with Florida Medicaid, at least as a limited-enrolled provider.

  1. 1

    Form the business and get an NPI

    Register with the Florida Division of Corporations, get a federal EIN, apply for a National Provider Identifier, and pull a local business tax receipt. The county license and the Medicaid application both ask for it.

  2. 2

    Get the county license where you operate

    Florida law recognizes county licensing for non-emergency transport (section 316.87, Florida Statutes). Miami-Dade issues a Non-Emergency Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under Chapter 4, Article III of the county code, approved by the county commission in three to six months, plus chauffeur registration for each driver. Broward issues a Nonemergency Medical Transportation Service License under Chapter 22½, Article II, with vehicle permits and chauffeur registrations. Hillsborough issues handicab certificates and vehicle permits under Ordinance 17-22. Other counties vary, so check before buying vehicles.

    Broward County Consumer Protection: Medical Transport Service forms (NEMTS license and vehicle permit)

  3. 3

    Screen owners through the AHCA Clearinghouse

    Section 409.907 requires the provider and its principals (owners of 5 percent or more, officers, directors, managing employees, and billing agents) to pass a Level 2 fingerprint screening through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. Drivers employed or contracted by transportation companies or brokers need a Level 1 screening or an equivalent under section 316.87.

    AHCA: Background screening

  4. 4

    Enroll with Florida Medicaid as provider type 41

    Rule 59G-1.060 sets provider type 41, Non-Emergency Transport, plus types 43 through 47 for taxicab, government, private, non-profit, and multi-load private carriers. Choose Fully Enrolled to bill fee-for-service directly or Limited Enrolled to work only inside managed care networks. Transportation applicants submit the county license or business tax certificate, proof of $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident liability coverage, and a surety bond on AHCA Form 5000-1064 unless contracted through a transportation coordinator. Enrollment renews every five years. The portal help line is 800-289-7799, option 4.

    Florida Medicaid Web Portal: Provider enrollment

  5. 5

    Credential with each broker

    Apply to Modivcare, MTM Health, Alivi, or Ride2MD depending on which plans cover your area. Modivcare, for example, asks for a PASS wheelchair certificate, First Aid and CPR, a defensive driving certificate, drug screening, a motor vehicle record, a background check, and vehicle registration, inspection, and insurance. Each broker sets its own insurance level in the contract.

    Alivi: Become a transportation provider

  6. 6

    Consider the county coordinator contract

    The Community Transportation Coordinator in your county subcontracts non-Medicaid rides under Chapter 427, Florida Statutes. It is a second revenue stream with its own paperwork.

    Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged

Vehicle and driver requirements in Florida

Florida's statewide rules are enrollment and screening rules. Vehicle standards come from the counties and the brokers.

Vehicles

RequirementState ruleBroker contract
Statewide operating licenseNone for wheelchair or ambulatory vans. Ambulance-level service needs a Chapter 401 license.Broker credentialing and inspection.
County licenseRequired where the county regulates the service: Miami-Dade (Chapter 4, Article III), Broward (Chapter 22½, Article II), Hillsborough (Ordinance 17-22), among others.Brokers require proof of the county license.
Vehicle permits and inspectionsCounty vehicle permits and inspection decals where required. Hillsborough handicabs need a lift or ramp and two wheelchair securements.Broker inspection of lifts, securements, and safety equipment.
Insurance on file$100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident liability for Medicaid enrollment (Rule 59G-1.060). Counties set higher floors.Higher limits set by the broker contract.

Drivers

RequirementState ruleBroker contract
Background screeningLevel 1 screening for NEMT drivers (s. 409.907(8), F.S.). Level 2 fingerprint screening for owners and principals through the AHCA Clearinghouse.Broker background checks on top.
Chauffeur registrationCounty chauffeur registration where required (Miami-Dade $55 per year; Broward registration; Hillsborough driver identification badge).Same.
Drug testingNot a statewide Medicaid enrollment condition.Required by broker contracts, including Modivcare.
TrainingNo statewide NEMT training rule. Broward requires proof that drivers have wheelchair and stretcher equipment training, a defensive driving course, and First Aid and CPR cards before it issues the NEMT service license. Hillsborough requires First Aid, CPR, and defensive driving for handicab drivers.PASS wheelchair certificate, First Aid and CPR, and defensive driving at broker credentialing.

Insurance minimums in Florida

AHCA sets the enrollment floor, state for-hire law sets a second floor, and the counties and brokers set the numbers most fleets actually carry.

CoverageMinimumSet by
Liability, per person$100,000Rule 59G-1.060
Liability, per incident$200,000Rule 59G-1.060
County floorsMiami-Dade $100,000 per person, $300,000 per incident, $50,000 property damage. Broward $500,000 combined single limit per vehicle. Hillsborough $300,000 combined single limit.County codes
Surety bondAHCA Form 5000-1064, waived when contracted through a transportation coordinatorRule 59G-1.060
Commercial auto and general liability for broker workSet by the brokerBroker contract

Does Florida require EVV for NEMT?

No. Section 409.9132, Florida Statutes applies electronic visit verification to fee-for-service home health visits, private duty nursing, and personal care services. NEMT trips are not in scope, and AHCA's EVV vendor (HHAeXchange, since October 1, 2024) does not cover transportation.

Plans and brokers check trips their own way. SMMC 3.0 requires each plan to file a Non-Emergency Transportation Timeliness Report and a missed services report with AHCA, so brokers push providers for pickup and drop-off timestamps, GPS, and signatures on every trip, submitted through the broker's portal.

AHCA: Home health services electronic visit verification (EVV)

What changed in Florida in 2025 and 2026

Florida had 3,877,393 people on Medicaid as of July 31, 2026, with 2,809,152 in managed care plans and 1,063,887 in fee-for-service. The managed care share is why the plan-to-vendor table above matters more than the two state broker contracts.

SMMC 3.0 started on February 1, 2025 with new plan contracts, nine lettered regions in place of the old eleven numbered ones, and new transportation oversight: a timeliness report and a missed services report that every plan files with AHCA. Alivi took over Sunshine Health's rides on January 1, 2025, UnitedHealthcare moved to MTM Health on March 1, 2026, and AmeriHealth Caritas left the program.

Modivcare brokers rides for Aetna, Community Care Plan, and Humana and holds the fee-for-service contract for regions A, G, H, and I. It filed for Chapter 11 on August 20, 2025 and emerged on December 29, 2025. Its Florida fee-for-service network reported 2,040 vehicles in AHCA's 2025 capacity analysis.

Florida sets a Medicaid rate only for ambulance. For fee-for-service trips, the coverage policy says everything else is reimbursed at a rate negotiated between the broker and the provider.

  1. HHAeXchange becomes AHCA's EVV vendor for home health, private duty nursing, and personal care. Transportation stays out of scope. Notice

  2. Alivi begins handling Sunshine Health member rides. Notice

  3. SMMC 3.0 begins: new plan contracts, nine lettered regions, and transportation timeliness reporting. Notice

  4. MTM rebrands as MTM Health after acquiring Access2Care and Veyo. Notice

  5. AHCA's 1915(b) fee-for-service transportation waiver renews through June 30, 2027 with Modivcare and MTM Health as regional brokers. Notice

  6. Modivcare files for Chapter 11. Notice

  7. Modivcare emerges from Chapter 11 with more than 85 percent of its debt eliminated. Notice

  8. UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Florida moves NEMT to MTM Health. Notice

  9. Sunshine Health announces that CMS Health Plan moves to Molina Healthcare on October 1, 2026. Notice

  10. Molina Healthcare takes over CMS Health Plan. Existing authorizations are honored. Notice

Frequently asked questions

Who is the NEMT broker in Florida?

Florida has no single broker. Each Medicaid health plan hires its own vendor: Modivcare for Aetna, Community Care Plan, and Humana; Alivi for Sunshine Health; Ride2MD for Simply Healthcare, Clear Health Alliance, and Florida Community Care; MTM Health for UnitedHealthcare, Molina, and CMS Health Plan. Fee-for-service members use Modivcare in regions A, G, H, and I and MTM Health in regions B through F under a state waiver.

Do I need a license to start a NEMT business in Florida?

There is no statewide NEMT license for wheelchair or ambulatory vans. The large counties license the service: Miami-Dade issues a Non-Emergency Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity plus chauffeur registration, Broward issues a Nonemergency Medical Transportation Service License, and Hillsborough issues handicab certificates and vehicle permits. You also need Florida Medicaid enrollment and a contract with at least one broker.

How do I become a Medicaid transportation provider in Florida?

Form the company, get any county license, pass Level 2 screening for owners through the AHCA Clearinghouse, enroll with Florida Medicaid as provider type 41 under Rule 59G-1.060, and credential with the brokers whose plans cover your area. Enrollment renews every five years.

What background checks does Florida require for NEMT?

The provider and its principals pass a Level 2 fingerprint screening through the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse. Drivers employed or contracted by transportation companies or brokers pass a Level 1 screening or an equivalent under section 316.87. Counties add chauffeur registration and brokers add their own checks.

What insurance does Florida require for NEMT?

AHCA requires proof of $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident liability coverage to enroll a transportation provider. Counties go higher: Broward requires $500,000 combined single limit per vehicle and Hillsborough $300,000. Broker contracts set their own limits.

Does Florida require EVV for NEMT?

No. Florida EVV covers fee-for-service home health, private duty nursing, and personal care under section 409.9132. Brokers require GPS and timestamped trip records through their portals instead.

How much does Florida Medicaid pay for NEMT trips?

Florida sets a Medicaid rate only for ambulance. For fee-for-service trips, AHCA's coverage policy says everything else is reimbursed at a rate negotiated between the broker and the provider. Members owe a $1 copay per trip unless exempt or the plan waives it.

What is SMMC 3.0 and why does it matter for transportation?

SMMC 3.0 is the set of Medicaid managed care contracts that started February 1, 2025. It reset which plans operate in each of nine lettered regions and added transportation timeliness and missed services reporting, so plans hold their brokers, and brokers hold providers, to tighter on-time standards.

Do I need a surety bond to enroll?

Non-emergency, multi-load, and taxicab providers submit AHCA Form 5000-1064 unless they are contracted through a transportation coordinator. Ask provider enrollment (800-289-7799, option 4) whether your broker or Community Transportation Coordinator contract qualifies before you buy the bond.

What is the Transportation Disadvantaged program?

A separate, non-Medicaid program under Chapter 427, Florida Statutes. The Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged names a Community Transportation Coordinator in each county, and the coordinator subcontracts rides to local operators. It is a common second contract for Florida NEMT fleets.

Running NEMT in Florida with HealthRide

A Florida fleet can hold four broker contracts plus a county coordinator subcontract, each with its own trip rules and its own payment schedule. HealthRide runs all of them on one dispatch board and one billing ledger.

The driver app records GPS-recorded miles, timestamps, signatures, and wait times on every leg, which is exactly what SMMC timeliness and missed services reporting pushes down to providers.

See pricing

Official resources

NEMT in other states

NEMT in Texas

Health plans each contract a broker. Brokers: SafeRide Health, MTM Health, Modivcare.

NEMT in California

Health plans each contract a broker. Brokers: Modivcare, Call the Car, American Logistics.

NEMT in New York

One statewide broker. Brokers: Medical Answering Services (MAS).

NEMT in Pennsylvania

County-run programs. Brokers: County MATP offices statewide; Modivcare in Philadelphia.

NEMT in Colorado

Statewide broker, phasing in. Brokers: MediDrive.