# How to Become an Arizona Complete Health Transportation Provider (2027)

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/brokers/arizona-complete-health/ · Updated 2026-09-30

To become an Arizona Complete Health transportation provider, register with AHCCCS as provider type 28, then join MTM Health, which arranges the plan's rides as of September 2026. MTM bought MTBA, the plan's only NEMT vendor since October 1, 2021, in July 2023. The plan's manual also says any subcontracted transportation provider must be credentialed with both the plan and the broker.

- Arizona Complete Health is an AHCCCS health plan, not a broker. As of September 2026, its own provider pages say MTM Health (formerly MTBA) handles its transportation.
- It is the only AHCCCS Complete Care plan in all 15 Arizona counties, with 339,950 members in September 2026 plus 15,946 members with a serious mental illness.
- Register with AHCCCS as provider type 28 first. Then apply to MTM and complete the plan's own credentialing, which its manual requires of transportation subcontractors.
- Credentialing asks for $1 million auto liability, $1 million workers' compensation, general liability, a vehicle maintenance schedule, and car seat records.
- Trips arrive no more than an hour early, members wait no more than an hour after treatment, and the plan's target is 95 percent on time each quarter.

Arizona Complete Health (AzCH) is a Centene health plan that serves AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid program. It is a health plan, not a broker. It pays for its members' rides, and a vendor books them and assigns them to transportation companies. Since October 1, 2021 that vendor has been MTBA, now part of MTM Health, so a transportation company gets AzCH trips through MTM and also goes through the plan's own credentialing.

AzCH has more members than any other AHCCCS acute care plan. The AHCCCS enrollment report dated September 10, 2026 shows:

| Arizona Complete Health program | Members, September 2026 | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Care Plan (ACC): children and adults | 339,950 | All 15 Arizona counties |
| Complete Care Plan for adults with a serious mental illness (ACC-RBHA) | 15,946 | The North and South service areas |
| Total | 355,896 | |

The next largest single line, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, had 309,518 members that month. Mercy Care had 312,392 counting its plan for adults with a serious mental illness.

## Who arranges Arizona Complete Health rides

MTM Health does, as of September 2026. AzCH's Medicaid and Medicare prior authorization pages both say its transportation services are handled by MTM (formerly MTBA). Its provider manual, last updated September 1, 2026, covers NEMT through the plan's contracted broker and vendor and routes every NEMT claim through it.

| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2018 | AzCH's AHCCCS Complete Care contract term begins |
| October 1, 2021 | MTBA becomes AzCH's exclusive NEMT vendor, replacing Veyo, and every NEMT claim starts going through the vendor |
| July 1, 2023 | MTM Health closes its purchase of MTBA |
| October 1, 2024 | Care1st's ACC and RBHA members in Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai counties become AzCH members |
| September 30, 2027 | The contract's current option period ends |
| September 30, 2028 | End of the one-year extension that state law (SB 1741, 2025) requires AHCCCS to issue to every ACC and ACC-RBHA plan |

Under its AHCCCS contract, a new transportation vendor counts as a material change to business operations, which AzCH must request from AHCCCS under ACOM Policy 439. The 2021 switch was announced to providers on August 31, 2021, a month before it took effect.

### Where AzCH members live

AzCH is the only ACC plan that serves all 15 Arizona counties. The AHCCCS plan list revised June 30, 2026 shows:

| Service area | Counties | AzCH programs there |
|---|---|---|
| Central | Maricopa, Gila, and Pinal except ZIP codes 85542, 85192, and 85550 | Complete Care |
| North | Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, Yavapai | Complete Care, plus the RBHA plan for adults with a serious mental illness |
| South | Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, and Pinal ZIP codes 85542, 85192, and 85550 | Complete Care, plus the RBHA plan |

In the five northern counties, AzCH and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Health Choice are the only two ACC plans. The [Arizona guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/arizona/) shows how each of the other plans buys rides.

## How to become an Arizona Complete Health transportation provider

You need AHCCCS registration and an MTM Health contract. AzCH's manual also says any subcontracted transportation provider must be credentialed with both the plan and the broker, so plan on AzCH's credentialing too. Work through the steps in this order.

1. **Register with AHCCCS.** Every NEMT company registers as provider type 28. The type 28 profile, revised September 2026, rates the type high risk, with an enrollment fee ($750 in calendar 2026), a site visit, and a fingerprint-based background check. You upload vehicle insurance and registrations, an ADOT Vehicle for Hire permit, the signed type 28 profile, and the owner's certificate from AHCCCS course HCNEMT2026, and you enter each driver's details in the portal. Your company logo must be on every vehicle. AHCCCS generally processes applications within 60 days.
2. **Apply to MTM Health.** MTM's steps are an application, an interview, contracting, credentialing, training, and a first trip. If it has no need in your area, it keeps your information on file. See [MTM Health](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/mtm-health/) for what its application asks.
3. **Send AzCH a Potential Provider Request.** The online form asks for your product line (the Complete Care Plan for Medicaid, Ambetter, or Allwell Medicare), provider type "Non-Emergency Transportation Providers", tax ID, group NPI, AHCCCS number, and the counties you serve. It marks the group NPI as required, although AHCCCS does not require one for type 28, so get a [Type 2 NPI](https://nemtguide.com/guides/how-to-get-an-npi-number-for-nemt/) first. AzCH's Potential Provider Committee must approve the request before credentialing starts.
4. **Complete the AzAHP credentialing application.** Arizona's health plans share one Organizational/Facility Application, effective March 1, 2026. Check the box for air and non-emergency transportation, and file one application per location. Attach your business license, insurance policies, a W-9, a vehicle maintenance schedule, and proof of age-appropriate car seats. AzCH decides within 60 calendar days of a complete application.
5. **Wait for the written effective date.** New organizational providers get a written effective date, and you cannot serve AzCH members before it or before your AHCCCS registration is complete.
6. **Recredential every 36 months.** AzCH notifies you 180 days before your credentials expire. A company that misses the deadline starts over with initial credentialing. See [NEMT recredentialing](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-recredentialing/).

Before step 3, ask MTM's network representative whether MTM sends your file to AzCH or wants you to file the Potential Provider Request yourself, so the paperwork is done once. AzCH's manual lets it delegate credentialing work while keeping the final say on who joins. Credentialing with AzCH does not carry over to other plans: AzCH's credentialing FAQ says each AHCCCS plan makes its own decision. The [credentialing checklist](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-credentialing-checklist/) and a [vehicle maintenance log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-vehicle-maintenance-log/) cover most of the attachments.

### Insurance the credentialing application lists

The AzAHP application's AHCCCS insurance checklist applies when you join a plan's Medicaid line:

| Coverage | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Business auto liability, owned, hired, and non-owned vehicles | $1,000,000 combined single limit |
| Commercial general liability | $1,000,000 each occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate, $1,000,000 products and completed operations, $1,000,000 personal and advertising injury, $50,000 damage to rented premises |
| Workers' compensation and employer's liability | $1,000,000 each accident, $1,000,000 disease per employee, $1,000,000 disease policy limit |
| Sexual abuse and molestation | Required when you serve children or vulnerable adults, sub-limit of at least $500,000 |
| Professional liability, if it applies | $1,000,000 each claim, $2,000,000 aggregate |

The auto and general liability policies must name the State of Arizona and its agencies and employees as additional insureds. Those two policies and workers' compensation each need a waiver of subrogation in the state's favor, and blanket endorsements are not accepted. See [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/).

### Crisis and behavioral health transport

AzCH's manual sets separate rules for crisis transportation providers, which work under their own contract with the plan. They coordinate every trip through the plan's crisis line provider, keep ADHS and AHCCCS qualified staff with fingerprint clearance cards, give every driver on duty a cell phone, and still bill through the contracted broker. Integrated health homes that run their own vans may contract with the broker to carry their members. See [behavioral health transportation](https://nemtguide.com/guides/behavioral-health-transportation/).

## How AzCH trips are booked and what the plan expects

Members book by calling AzCH Member Services at 1-888-788-4408 (TTY 711) and choosing the transportation option. The 2026 member handbook AzCH posts, the edition for adults with a serious mental illness revised January 1, 2026, asks for at least three days' notice, or three working days for a wheelchair or stretcher ride. Members can call on weekends and holidays for rides to urgent care, and cancel through the same number. A member with a behavioral health home gets help scheduling from that home first.

The caller gives the member's mobility needs: wheelchair or stretcher, oxygen, IVs, a companion, an extra-wide or electric wheelchair, or a high-top vehicle. Children under 5 need a car seat, and children 5 through 7 who are shorter than 4 feet 9 inches need a booster seat. The handbook tells families to bring the car seat.

AHCCCS Policy 310-BB, with changes effective October 1, 2026, adds rules for AzCH trips:

- **Short-notice trips.** A plan may ask for no more than three calendar days' notice, and must try to fill shorter-notice requests. Dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation, hospital and emergency room discharges, urgent visits, prenatal care, transplants, sleep studies, and appointments booked within three days are exceptions.
- **Pharmacy trips.** In Maricopa and Pima counties, a pharmacy trip is covered only within 15 miles one way of the pickup, unless the plan authorizes a compounding or specialty pharmacy.
- **Minors.** A 16 or 17 year old may ride alone only if the plan allows it, the guardian's signed release (Attachment A) is on file, and the driver holds a Level I fingerprint clearance card and walks the member inside.

### On-time rules

AzCH's manual and its AHCCCS contract (Amendment 14, effective October 1, 2026) set these standards:

| Standard | Rule |
|---|---|
| Drop-off | On time, and no more than one hour before the appointment |
| Ride home | Within one hour after treatment ends or after the [will-call](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/will-call-trip/) request |
| Early pickup | Never before treatment is complete |
| Quarterly target | 95 percent of completed pickups and drop-offs on time |
| Dialysis, radiation, and chemotherapy | Reliable rides that arrive on time and pick up when the whole treatment ends |
| Oversight | AzCH audits its transportation vendors and requires corrective action when standards are missed |

The manual lists the reports AzCH collects from its transportation broker each month, including call statistics, complaints, and a detail trip report, plus a quarterly on-time report.

## Trip records and pay

Your MTM agreement sets your rates. AzCH's manual says companies with direct contracts with the broker bill the number of trips and [loaded miles](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/loaded-miles/) as those agreements outline. A loaded mile is a statute mile driven with the member on board.

The manual also tells transportation providers to follow Chapter 14 of the AHCCCS fee-for-service billing manual:

- **One claim per member per day.** All of a member's trips that day go on one claim: the number of trips on line 1 and the total miles on line 2.
- **Daily Trip Report.** The manual says a Daily Trip Report goes with the claim.
- **Addresses.** Put the full pickup and drop-off addresses in box 32, or in loops 2310E and 2310F on an electronic claim. Where there is no street address, describe the spot, such as a crossroads or a mile marker. Claims without them are denied.
- **Trip tickets.** The manual adds that an electronic claim with those loops filled in needs no separate trip ticket, and every paper claim needs one.

Every trip record needs the fields in section 11.2.4 of the manual: your company name and address, the driver's signature and credentials, the vehicle, the member's AHCCCS ID, the full date, both addresses, odometer readings at pickup and drop-off, one way or round trip, any escort's name and relationship, and the member's or guardian's signature. If a member refuses to sign, the driver notes the refusal. Missing records put the payment at risk of recoupment. A [trip log](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-trip-log-template/) that captures these fields keeps you covered.

For a benchmark when you negotiate with MTM, here is what AHCCCS pays for fee-for-service rides from October 1, 2026. Trips that start outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas are rural and billed with the TN modifier.

| Service | Code | Phoenix and Tucson | Rural (TN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulatory van or minibus trip | A0120 | $6.64 | $7.27 |
| Ambulatory mileage, per mile | S0215 | $1.28 | $1.63 |
| Wheelchair van trip | A0130 | $11.15 | $12.21 |
| Wheelchair van mileage, per mile | S0209 | $1.54 | $1.66 |
| Stretcher van trip | T2005 | $49.09 | $86.70 |
| Stretcher van mileage, per mile | T2049 | $1.54 | $1.66 |
| Wait time, per half hour | T2007 | $4.59 | $4.59 |

For long rural days, see [rural NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/rural-nemt/). For how plan and broker contracts differ, see [how to contract with Medicaid health plans](https://nemtguide.com/guides/contract-with-medicaid-health-plans/).

## Who to call

| For | Contact |
|---|---|
| New contract requests and credentialing forms from new providers | AzCHPotentialProvider@azcompletehealth.com |
| Credentialing forms from providers already in the network | AzCHProviderData@azcompletehealth.com, fax (866) 687-0514 |
| Your AzCH Provider Engagement Account Manager | AzCHProviderEngagement@azcompletehealth.com |
| AzCH provider customer service | 1-866-796-0542 |
| Member ride booking and cancellations | AzCH Member Services, 1-888-788-4408 (TTY 711), transportation option |
| Behavioral health crisis line | 1-844-534-4673 |
| Joining MTM Health's network | The online application on MTM's service providers page. Companies already in the network call their Vendor Account Manager. |
| MTM Health headquarters | 16 Hawk Ridge Drive, Lake St. Louis, MO 63367. 636-561-5686 |
| AHCCCS registration | The AHCCCS Provider Enrollment Portal (APEP). AHCCCS main line 602-417-4000 |

Before you apply, have your AHCCCS provider ID, Type 2 NPI, W-9, insurance certificates with the state endorsements, vehicle list with maintenance schedules, and the counties you will serve ready. Decide whether you will run ambulatory, wheelchair, or stretcher trips, and whether you can cover the northern and rural southern counties, where AzCH is one of only two or three ACC plans.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Arizona Complete Health contract directly with NEMT companies?

Not for regular trips. Its provider manual, last updated September 1, 2026, covers NEMT through the plan's contracted broker, and since October 1, 2021 every NEMT claim goes through that vendor. The manual also says any subcontracted transportation provider must be credentialed with both the plan and the broker. So you apply to MTM Health and expect AzCH's credentialing as well.

### Who is Arizona Complete Health's transportation vendor?

MTM Health. Arizona Complete Health made Medical Transportation Brokerage of Arizona (MTBA) its exclusive NEMT vendor starting October 1, 2021, replacing Veyo. MTM Health closed its purchase of MTBA on July 1, 2023. As of September 2026, the plan's Medicaid and Medicare prior authorization pages both say transportation is handled by MTM (formerly MTBA).

### Do I need AHCCCS registration before I can drive Arizona Complete Health members?

Yes. Every Arizona NEMT company registers with AHCCCS as provider type 28, a high-risk type with a site visit, fingerprints, and a $750 enrollment fee in 2026. The AzAHP credentialing application says members may not be seen until the plan confirms your effective date in writing and your AHCCCS registration is complete, and that you cannot be paid without that registration.

### What insurance does Arizona Complete Health require for transportation?

The AzAHP application effective March 1, 2026 lists the AHCCCS insurance for the Medicaid line: business auto liability of $1,000,000 combined single limit, general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, and workers' compensation of $1,000,000 per accident. The State of Arizona must be an additional insured with a waiver of subrogation, and blanket endorsements are not accepted.

### How much does Arizona Complete Health pay for a wheelchair van trip?

Your MTM Health agreement sets the rate. The plan's manual says transportation companies bill trips and loaded miles as their agreements with the broker outline. For comparison, AHCCCS fee-for-service rates from October 1, 2026 pay $11.15 per wheelchair van trip plus $1.54 per loaded mile in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, and $12.21 plus $1.66 everywhere else.

### How far ahead do Arizona Complete Health members book rides?

The 2026 member handbook the plan posts, the edition for adults with a serious mental illness, asks members to call Member Services at 1-888-788-4408 at least three days before an appointment, and three working days ahead for a wheelchair or stretcher ride. AHCCCS Policy 310-BB caps required notice at three calendar days and requires exceptions for dialysis, chemotherapy, hospital discharges, urgent visits, and prenatal care.

### Can I drive an Arizona Complete Health member under 18 without a parent?

Only if the plan allows it and every condition in AHCCCS Policy 310-BB is met. The member must be 16 or 17, the guardian must sign the policy's Authorization and Release Form, which you keep on file, and the driver must hold a Level I fingerprint clearance card from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The driver also walks the member into the destination.

## Official resources

- [Arizona Complete Health: Potential Provider Request](https://www.azcompletehealth.com/providers/become-a-provider/potential-provider-application.html)
- [Arizona Complete Health: Credentialing forms](https://www.azcompletehealth.com/providers/become-a-provider/credentialing-forms.html)
- [AzAHP: Organizational/Facility Application](https://www.azahp.org/_files/ugd/8ab83b_a03faf9674ce46d4a24e3977f96beb85.pdf)
- [Arizona Complete Health: Online provider manual](https://www.azcompletehealth.com/providers/resources/provider-manual.html)
- [MTM Health: Join the transportation provider network](https://www.mtm-inc.net/service-providers/)
- [AHCCCS: Provider Enrollment Portal (APEP)](https://www.azahcccs.gov/APEP)
- [AHCCCS: Provider type 28 profile and NEMT training instructions](https://www.azahcccs.gov/PlansProviders/Downloads/ProviderRegistration/Non-EmergencyTransportationProvider.pdf)
- [AHCCCS: Policy 310-BB, Transportation](https://www.azahcccs.gov/shared/Downloads/MedicalPolicyManual/300/310-BB.pdf)
- [AHCCCS: Ground transportation fee schedules](https://www.azahcccs.gov/PlansProviders/RatesAndBilling/FFS/transportationground.html)