How to start a NEMT business in Oklahoma: SoonerRide, SoonerSelect, and Modivcare

How Medicaid NEMT works in Oklahoma

OHCA runs SoonerCare, Oklahoma's Medicaid program. Since April 1, 2024, members outside the excluded groups get care through SoonerSelect health plans: Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma, Humana Healthy Horizons in Oklahoma, and Oklahoma Complete Health, which also runs the Children's Specialty Program for children served by child welfare and juvenile justice. Members excluded from SoonerSelect, such as people on both Medicare and Medicaid, aged, blind, and disabled members, and 1915(c) waiver members, stay in SoonerCare. American Indian and Alaska Native members may opt in or stay.

SoonerCare members use SoonerRide. Under OAC 317:30-5-326, OHCA contracts with one broker for the most appropriate, least costly ride statewide. In June 2018 OHCA awarded its non-emergency transportation contract to LogistiCare, now Modivcare. Members call at least three business days ahead. Care should be within 45 miles of home, and longer trips and out-of-state trips need OHCA approval, though American Indian and Alaska Native members can go to any Tribal or IHS facility equipped for their needs.

SoonerSelect plans must provide NEMT under their state contracts. Members give 72 hours' notice, excluding weekends and state holidays, with exceptions for urgent care, recent appointments, follow-ups, hospital discharges, standing orders, and some behavioral health admissions. All three plans use Modivcare, each with its own phone line, so for a provider one broker controls every Oklahoma Medicaid trip.

Governing rule:OAC 317:30-5-326: SoonerRide provider eligibility

Who brokers Medicaid rides in Oklahoma

One broker, four member phone lines. Modivcare arranges SoonerRide trips in all 77 counties and books rides for each SoonerSelect plan.

SoonerSelect rides can be booked up to 30 days ahead. Members who do not know when an appointment will end call Modivcare Ride Assist at 800-435-1034, and a provider is sent within one hour.

Members who live within a quarter mile of a transit stop may get bus passes instead of a vehicle ride, with exceptions such as dialysis trips and high-risk pregnancies.

How to become a NEMT provider in Oklahoma

Because Modivcare brokers every SoonerRide and SoonerSelect trip, its network is the door to Oklahoma Medicaid work. Plan on Modivcare credentialing for every driver and vehicle.

1. 1

   Form the business

   Register the company with the Oklahoma Secretary of State and get a federal EIN. Use the same legal name on your Modivcare application and insurance certificates.

2. 2

   Apply to Modivcare's transportation network

   Modivcare takes new provider inquiries through an online form and lists the driver, vehicle, and insurance documents it checks. OHCA pays the SoonerRide broker under the Medicaid State Plan methodology, and what Modivcare pays you is set in your provider contract.

   Modivcare: Transportation providers

3. 3

   Credential your drivers

   Modivcare requires a PASS wheelchair certificate, First Aid and CPR certification, a defensive driving certificate, a passed drug screen, a clean motor vehicle report, and a background check for each driver.

   Modivcare: Transportation providers

4. 4

   Register, inspect, and insure every vehicle

   Each vehicle needs current registration, a state inspection if one is required, and insurance that meets the minimums. Modivcare also asks for commercial general liability, sexual abuse and molestation coverage, and workers compensation if you have employees.

5. 5

   Learn the SoonerSelect service standards

   The SoonerSelect contracts require on-time pickups and let a driver leave 15 minutes after the scheduled time. Riders must be told about any delay over 15 minutes, will-call returns must be picked up within one hour, and no one may ride more than 45 minutes longer than a direct trip on a shared ride.

   SoonerSelect contract (Oklahoma Complete Health), section 1.7.7

Vehicle and driver requirements in Oklahoma

OHCA's rules set no driver or vehicle standards of their own. The SoonerSelect contracts define the vehicle types and service standards, and Modivcare's credentialing sets the rest.

Vehicles

Drivers

Insurance minimums in Oklahoma

Oklahoma sets no NEMT-specific insurance minimum. The state auto floor applies to every vehicle, and Modivcare adds commercial coverage in the provider contract.

Does Oklahoma require EVV for NEMT?

No. OHCA applies electronic visit verification to in-home personal care and home health services, as the 21st Century Cures Act requires, through AuthentiCare and, for the health plans, HHAeXchange. NEMT is not an EVV service.

Trips are checked through the broker instead. From April to June 2026, SoonerRide's top denial reasons were members refusing the closest facility (1,646), incomplete information or documentation (1,235), and non-covered services (1,101). Keep appointment details and trip records for every leg.

OHCA: Electronic Visit Verification

What changed in Oklahoma in 2025 and 2026

Oklahoma had 910,500 people on Medicaid and 81,058 on CHIP in May 2026, according to CMS's preliminary monthly data.

SoonerRide alone completed 208,846 trips from April to June 2026 and spent $10,437,395, with an average of 312,789 members eligible each month. Monthly trips ran between 66,377 (May) and 71,706 (June), and about 10,000 different members rode each month.

Modivcare filed for Chapter 11 on August 20, 2025 and emerged on December 29, 2025. Because it brokers every Oklahoma Medicaid trip, its payment terms are the ones that matter to Oklahoma providers.

OHCA pays the SoonerRide broker under the Medicaid State Plan methodology (OAC 317:30-5-326). Provider rates are set in each provider's Modivcare contract.

1. June 1, 2018

   OHCA awards the non-emergency transportation contract to LogistiCare Solutions, now Modivcare.

   Notice

2. April 1, 2024

   SoonerSelect managed care begins. Aetna, Humana, and Oklahoma Complete Health all use Modivcare for member rides.

   Notice

3. August 20, 2025

   Modivcare files for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas.

   Notice

4. December 29, 2025

   Modivcare emerges from Chapter 11.

   Notice

5. July 27, 2026

   OHCA reports 208,846 SoonerRide trips and $10.44 million spent for April to June 2026.

   Notice