NJ Medicaid Transportation Guide (NEMT)

1. What Is NJ Medicaid (NJ FamilyCare)?

New Jersey's Medicaid program is called NJ FamilyCare. It is a joint federal and state health insurance program that provides coverage to low-income individuals and families, pregnant women, children, seniors, and people with disabilities who meet eligibility requirements.

NJ FamilyCare is administered through managed care organizations (MCOs) — private health plans that contract with the state to provide Medicaid benefits including, critically, non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). As a federal Medicaid requirement, NEMT is a mandatory benefit: states must ensure that eligible members have transportation to and from covered medical services when they have no other means of getting there.

The NJ Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS), part of the NJ Department of Human Services, oversees the NJ FamilyCare program. For general Medicaid information, call the NJ FamilyCare hotline at 1-800-701-0710.

2. Who Qualifies for NEMT Under NJ FamilyCare?

To receive NEMT benefits under NJ FamilyCare, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be an active NJ FamilyCare member enrolled in a participating managed care plan
• Be traveling to or from a covered Medicaid service (doctor visits, dialysis, chemotherapy, hospital, mental health, etc.)
• Have no other means of transportation — no personal vehicle, no family member able to drive you, no public transit that is medically accessible
• Obtain prior authorization from your MCO's transportation broker before the trip

3. NJ FamilyCare Managed Care Plans & NEMT

In NJ, most Medicaid members are enrolled in one of six managed care organizations. Each MCO contracts with a transportation broker (such as ModivCare, formerly LogistiCare) to manage NEMT scheduling and authorization. You must contact your specific MCO's transportation line — not the provider — to request rides.

The six NJ FamilyCare MCOs as of 2025–2026 are:

• Amerigroup New Jersey
• Horizon NJ Health
• UnitedHealthcare Community Plan NJ
• Aetna Better Health of NJ
• WellCare by Horizon
• AmeriHealth NJ

See the contact table in Section 10 for specific transportation phone numbers.

4. How to Request Medicaid Transportation

The process for requesting NEMT through NJ FamilyCare follows these steps:

5. Advance Booking Requirements

NJ FamilyCare MCOs have specific advance notice requirements for NEMT:

Requirements may vary by MCO. Always confirm with your specific plan.

6. What Vehicle Types Are Covered?

NJ Medicaid covers the least costly mode of transportation that meets the patient's medical needs. Modes covered include:

• Public transit / bus passes — for ambulatory patients without physical limitations
• Volunteer driver / mileage reimbursement — for patients with a family member or friend willing to drive
• Sedan / taxi-style transport — for ambulatory patients who cannot use public transit
• Wheelchair-accessible van — for patients who use a wheelchair or cannot transfer safely to a standard vehicle (requires prescription of necessity)
• Ambulance / stretcher transport — for patients who cannot sit upright or require medical monitoring during transport (requires physician order)

Delta Medical Transportation provides wheelchair van and ambulance/stretcher transport as a credentialed NJ NEMT provider.

7. Dialysis Standing Orders

For hemodialysis patients requiring transport 3 times per week, NJ FamilyCare allows standing order authorizations — a single approval covering all recurring dialysis trips for a set period (typically 90 days to 1 year), rather than requesting each trip individually.

To set up a dialysis standing order:

1. Your nephrologist must provide a completed prescription of necessity specifying the dialysis center name, address, frequency (e.g., Monday/Wednesday/Friday), and approximate times
2. Your MCO's transportation broker will review and authorize the standing order
3. Once approved, your rides are confirmed for every session within the authorization period without re-calling
4. Renew 2–4 weeks before the standing order expires to avoid a gap in service

See our full Dialysis Transportation Guide for more detail on this process.

8. What to Do If Your Transport Is Denied

Transport denials can happen for several reasons, including:

• Missing or incomplete prescription of necessity
• Appointment is with a non-participating Medicaid provider
• Request submitted too close to the appointment date
• MCO believes a less costly transport mode is appropriate
• Authorization period has expired (standing order renewal needed)

If you are denied, do not simply accept the denial. You have the right to appeal. See Section 9 for the appeal process. In the meantime, if you need transportation urgently, contact Delta Medical Transportation at (973) 389-3110 — we offer private-pay options and can often schedule on short notice.

9. How to Appeal a Denied Transport

NJ FamilyCare members have the right to appeal any adverse transport decision. The appeal process works as follows:

10. NJ FamilyCare MCO Transportation Contact Numbers

Use the table below to find the transportation line for your specific NJ FamilyCare plan. Always call the transportation / NEMT line, not the general member services number, to request rides.

Phone numbers subject to change. Always confirm on the back of your insurance card or at njfamilycare.org.