NEMT trip price calculator: what a ride should cost

How to use the trip price calculator

The calculator starts with example numbers so you can see how the math works. Replace each one with your own rates, and the price updates as you type. There is no signup, and nothing you enter is saved.

1. Enter your base rate and rate per loaded mile. Use your rate sheet for private-pay riders, or the payer’s fee schedule for Medicaid and broker trips.
2. Enter the loaded miles for one leg, from pickup to drop-off.
3. Enter the expected wait, the minutes you include for free, and what you charge for each 15 minutes after that.
4. Add an extra attendant fee or an after-hours fee if the trip needs one. Leave them at zero otherwise.
5. Read the one-way price, the round-trip price, and the line-by-line breakdown.

Use Reset to example values to start over.

What each input means and where to find your number

On Medicaid trips, the payer sets these amounts, not you. North Dakota Medicaid pays only for miles traveled with the member in the vehicle. Its manual lists separate codes for the base rate and the mileage of each vehicle type, such as A0130 for a wheelchair van and S0209 for wheelchair van mileage. Our guide to how much Medicaid pays for NEMT collects published rates by state, and the glossary explains loaded miles.

Wait time rules vary by program. The HCPCS code for NEMT waiting time, T2007, is counted in half-hour units. Indiana Medicaid does not pay the first 30 minutes of waiting, and it pays waiting time only when the rider travels 50 miles or more one way. To model a half-hour rate here, set the free time to match the payer and enter half the half-hour rate as the charge per 15 minutes. Programs round partial time their own way, so the result can differ from the payer’s by part of a unit. The glossary defines wait time.

How to read the result

The one-way price is the base rate, plus mileage, plus any wait charge, attendant fee, and after-hours fee. The breakdown shows each piece, so you can see which one drives the total.

The round-trip price is two legs at the same settings, with wait time charged once. That matches the usual pattern. The driver takes the rider to the appointment, waits or returns later, then drives the rider home. If the return leg is longer or runs after hours, price each leg on its own.

A price only works if it covers your costs. Check it against what a trip costs you with the profit per vehicle calculator. Then find the monthly trip count that covers your fixed costs with the break-even calculator.

The empty miles a driver covers to reach the rider are not in this price. For private pay, some providers cover them with the base rate or a minimum fare on long pickups. The deadhead cost calculator shows what those miles cost you.

Worked example

These are the calculator’s example numbers, not market rates:

• Base rate: $25 per leg
• Rate per loaded mile: $2.50
• Loaded miles: 12 each way
• Expected wait: 40 minutes, with 15 minutes free and $10 per 15 minutes after that
• No extra attendant and no after-hours fee

Mileage is 12 miles at $2.50, or $30. The billable wait is 40 minus 15, or 25 minutes. That is one full 15-minute block plus part of a second, so it counts as 2 blocks, or $20. The one-way price is $25 plus $30 plus $20, which is $75. The round trip is two legs of $55 each plus the $20 wait, which is $130.

Setting prices you can stand behind

• Price by level of service. Wheelchair and stretcher trips need more equipment and more time, and some need a second person. Price them separately from ambulatory rides. The glossary entry on level of service explains the tiers.
• Write your policy down. A published rate sheet with your wait, no-show, and after-hours terms prevents disputes. Start from our NEMT rate sheet template.
• Know your cost per mile and per pickup. Mileage pays for the driving. The base rate has to pay for the fixed minutes every pickup takes, such as loading and securing a wheelchair, whatever the distance.
• Review prices when costs move. The U.S. Energy Information Administration put regular gasoline at $4.478 a gallon in the week of September 21, 2026, up $1.31 from a year earlier. Fuel is part of every mile you charge for.

For the full method behind setting rates, read how to price NEMT trips and our guide to private pay NEMT.

From price to paid invoice

Once your rates are set, HealthRide prices each completed trip from the rates you set for each payer and gathers those trips into a ready invoice. Facilities can pay online, and you can record a check when one arrives. See how invoicing works.