How to Become a Bay Cities Brokerage Transportation Provider in 2027

Bay Cities Brokerage (BCB) is a ride brokerage based in Coos Bay, Oregon. It arranges non-emergent medical transportation (NEMT) for members of two Oregon Health Plan (OHP) coordinated care organizations on the southern coast and in the Umpqua Valley. It books the rides, checks eligibility, and sends each trip to a transportation company in its network.

Bay Cities describes itself as both a brokerage and a transport provider, and its site says it also provides NEMT and ambulance services. Its adverse weather plan mentions quarterly meetings with the Bay Cities Ambulance safety committee, and Umpqua Health’s 2026 rider guide lists its Roseburg office at Umpqua Valley Ambulance. When you apply, ask which trip types and areas Bay Cities sends to outside companies.

Where Bay Cities Brokerage arranges rides

Oregon has no single Medicaid broker. Each coordinated care organization (CCO) picks its own ride service. As of September 2026, the Oregon Health Authority’s CCO contact list names Bay Cities as the ride service for two of them.

CCO	Service area	With Bay Cities since
Advanced Health	All of Coos and Curry counties	Since at least April 2018, when Advanced Health posted a Bay Cities rider flyer
Umpqua Health Alliance	Most of Douglas County	July 1, 2023, per Umpqua Health Alliance’s July 2023 provider newsletter

Bay Cities only serves those two plans’ members. OHA’s brokerage map, effective July 1, 2023, lists the other ride services in the same counties:

Members in Coos, Curry, or Douglas County	Ride service
Advanced Health and Umpqua Health Alliance	Bay Cities Brokerage
AllCare CCO	ReadyRide
Trillium, in western Douglas County	RideSource
All other members, including open card	TransLink

To serve every OHP member in these counties, you would need an agreement with each of these ride services. The Oregon state guide lists every ride service by plan and county, and Ride to Care covers the Portland-area program.

Bay Cities calls itself a shared ride program, so other members may be picked up or dropped off during a ride. Its 2026 Advanced Health rider guide lists the ride types it uses: bus tickets or passes, mileage reimbursement, shared rides, sedans, wheelchair vans, stretcher vans, and secure transport. Its program pages add taxis and say a ride may involve a volunteer who gives rides to health care appointments.

How to become a Bay Cities Brokerage provider

Bay Cities’ providers page invites companies to submit its provider application, and says its brokerage administrator will review it and contact you about a potential partnership. Its Advanced Health main page asks for applications to serve Coos and Curry counties, and its Umpqua Health main page asks for Douglas County.

1. Check your counties. Confirm the towns you serve are in Coos, Curry, or Douglas County and that you can reach Advanced Health or Umpqua Health Alliance members there.
2. Enroll with OHA and get an NPI. The application asks for your Medicaid provider number. Oregon’s CCO billing rule, OAR 410-141-3565, requires every provider to be enrolled with OHA as a fee-for-service or encounter-only provider before its encounter claims are accepted. Plans enroll their providers on form OHP 3108 (January 2025), which lists Transportation Provider as provider type 1 and asks for an NPI. See how to get an NPI number for NEMT.
3. Buy insurance. The application asks for your general liability, workers’ compensation, and vehicle liability carriers and limits. Ask Bay Cities for its minimum limits first. See NEMT insurance requirements.
4. Check state and city permits. The 2026 CCO contract requires vehicles that meet local licensing and permit requirements. The Oregon state guide covers the ODOT for-hire permit and its exemptions.
5. Fill out the vendor application. Download the four-page Vendor Application (Rev 2023) from Bay Cities’ site, sign it, and attach your certificate of insurance. Email support@bca-ride.com or call 877-324-8109 to confirm where to send it.
6. Pass credentialing. The 2026 CCO contract requires every NEMT provider to go through the plan’s provider credentialing under OAR 410-141-3510 before its first ride, with drivers and vehicles that meet OAR 410-141-3925. Credentialing is repeated at least every three years.
7. Set up your drivers in the app. If Bay Cities has your drivers use its provider mobile app, Bay Cities or your company creates each driver’s login.

A CCO does not have to contract with every company that applies. Under OAR 410-141-3510, if a plan declines to add a provider to its network, it must give written notice of the reason. Track your documents with the NEMT credentialing checklist, and see NEMT broker credentialing for what reviewers look at.

What the vendor application asks

Section	What you fill in
Company	Legal name, doing business as name, registered owner, address and county, federal tax ID, nonprofit or tax-exempt number, and Medicaid provider number
Contacts	Main phone and fax, plus a point of contact with phone, email, and title
Hours	Office hours, transportation service hours, and whether you accept rides requested after 4:00 p.m. for the next day
Service area	The counties you will serve
Vehicles	How many you will provide of each type: taxi cab, med-car, sedan, minivan, wheelchair van, minivan with wheelchair access, multi-passenger bus, multi-passenger van, stretcher, and ambulance
Help at the door	Whether drivers assist ambulatory riders and wheelchair users, and where: stairs, elevator, desk check-in, or front door. It also asks whether drivers help riders move from a wheelchair to a seat.
Service questions	Folding wheelchairs in sedans, attendants through another organization, child restraint seats, wheelchair or lift trips outside your area, same-day requests, the most riders you will take from one place to one destination and whether you charge extra, and the most daily round trips you will accept
Communications	How you reach your drivers, and whether you would buy a system if you do not have one
Business status	Whether you qualify as a state Minority-Owned Business Enterprise, and a copy of any certificate
Insurance	Carrier and limits for general liability, workers’ compensation, and vehicle liability, with a certificate of insurance attached

What Oregon requires of every company in a CCO ride network

Bay Cities’ 2026 Advanced Health rider guide says it reviews every NEMT provider before contracting and makes sure vehicles meet the safety requirements. OAR 410-141-3925, last amended effective January 1, 2022, sets the vehicle and driver standards. It does not apply to licensed ambulances, which follow Oregon’s separate ambulance rules.

Area	Requirement
Vehicle safety equipment	Seat belts for all passengers where the law requires them, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, roadside reflective or warning devices, a flashlight, tire traction devices when appropriate, disposable gloves, and all equipment to secure wheelchairs and stretchers under the ADA, Section 504, and ORS 659A.103
Vehicle condition	A clean interior, no smoking or vaping ever, a maintenance schedule that covers at least the manufacturer’s recommendations, and working mirrors, horn, heat, air conditioning, ventilation, turn signals, headlights, taillights, and wipers
Before hiring a driver	A valid license of the right class with any endorsements, a clear OIG exclusion check, and a criminal background check under ORS 181A.195 and 181A.200. The plan must have an exception process that can approve a driver with a criminal record after reviewing the offense.
Driver disclosures	Drivers disclose any state drug law violation and their driving history, including traffic violations, and report later changes
Before driving any member	First aid, CPR, and blood spill procedures certification, from a Red Cross-approved course or equivalent
Within three months of hire, then every three years	The National Safety Council Defensive Driving course and a Passenger Service and Safety course, or equivalents
Other training	NEMT basics, reporting forms, fraud and abuse reporting, the service area, emergency procedures during a ride, and state driving laws
EMTs as drivers	Allowed if the EMT license is current and re-checked every year, the EMT passes the exclusion and criminal background checks, and completes the defensive driving, passenger safety, and NEMT basics training

The 2026 CCO contract (Exhibit B, Part 2, Section 5) makes each plan monitor its ride network. Its checks include background checks on every driver covering criminal history, driving history, sex offender status, and drug testing. They also cover training for each level of service and for riders with disabilities, and workers’ compensation, general liability, and automobile liability insurance. Each plan audits a share of daily rides for claims data, pickup and drop-off times, the right level of transport, and member satisfaction. See NEMT driver requirements and NEMT vehicle requirements.

How Bay Cities sends and runs trips

Members and facilities book through Bay Cities’ call center or its online passenger portal. Bay Cities approves the ride, chooses the type of transport, and picks a transportation company. It must tell members the scheduled pickup date, time, and addresses. For rides booked at least two days ahead, it also gives the company’s or driver’s name and phone number. Drivers cannot change a pickup time without prior, documented permission from Bay Cities.

Bay Cities lists a provider mobile app, for Android and iOS, among its vendor documents. Ask whether it wants your drivers to use it. The app’s user guide (version 1.0, January 2019), posted on Bay Cities’ site, describes how it works:

• Log in and set up. Each driver logs in, accepts the privacy agreement, picks the vehicle, and enters the odometer.
• See trips. Assigned trips show as a pickup leg and a drop-off leg, with the scheduled, requested, and estimated times. Open trips appear on an available trips screen if your company lets drivers sign up for them.
• Arrive. If Bay Cities has turned on auto arrive, the app marks a driver as arrived when the vehicle stops at the address near the trip time. A driver can only mark arrival when close to the location.
• No-show or cancel. Arriving starts a wait timer. The driver can record a no-show once it runs out, or a cancellation if the rider refuses the ride.
• Complete. At drop-off, the driver collects the rider’s signature when required and submits the trip. Odometer readings, times, locations, and signatures go back to Bay Cities for billing.
• Location. Bay Cities’ privacy policy for the app, effective September 29, 2023, says it uses background location while a driver is logged in, for vehicle tracking, trip mileage, and same-day trip assignments, and that tracking can be turned off when the vehicle is not in service.

The app needs a data signal to receive trips, and it stores completed trip data offline until the phone reconnects. See NEMT trip documentation for what a complete trip record needs.

Pickup and drop-off rules

These rules come from the 2026 CCO contract, OAR 410-141-3920 and 3935, and Bay Cities’ 2026 rider guides.

Situation	Rule
Waiting for the rider	Make your presence known and wait at least 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup. Tell the dispatcher before leaving.
Arriving early	Allowed, but the member does not have to board before the scheduled pickup time
Scheduled returns	Arrive between 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the scheduled time
Will-call returns	Pick up within 1 hour after the call
Drop-off	At least 15 minutes before the appointment, never more than 1 hour early, and never more than 15 minutes before the office opens unless the member asks
Pickup near closing	Never more than 15 minutes after the office closes, unless the member asks or the visit runs late
Level of service	Curb to curb by default, or door to door or hand to hand when approved
Inside buildings	Drivers do not enter rooms except for hospital discharges or stretcher rides, and do not lift members from bed to wheelchair or wheelchair to vehicle
Extra stops	Only stops Bay Cities approved before the member got in
Oversized wheelchairs	Members must report a chair wider than 30 inches, longer than 48 inches, or over 600 pounds with the rider
Children	A child 12 or under rides with an adult attendant. The parent, guardian, or caregiver provides and installs any required safety seat, and the driver must not transport the child without one.
Payments	No cash, fares, or tips, and no extra charge for an attendant
Accidents and incidents	The driver emails Bay Cities within 24 hours with names, place, time, what happened, and any treatment. The plan must report injury accidents and abuse to OHA within 2 business days.

Under OAR 410-141-3955 and the 2026 rider guides, a member who often misses rides can be limited to one company, to mileage reimbursement, or to fewer advance bookings. Report every no-show through the app so Bay Cities has the record.

Bad weather and backup rides

The 2026 CCO contract requires an adverse weather plan that keeps rides running for critical care, such as dialysis and chemotherapy, and a backup plan for any vehicle more than 15 minutes late. Bay Cities’ adverse weather plan uses four levels:

Level	What happens
Green, normal	Buses and transportation providers are running
Yellow, caution	Service runs, but some riders cannot or will not travel. Advance notice is waived so they can reschedule, and staff look for a provider for every urgent request.
Amber, hazardous	Travel is slow but running. The supervisor or brokerage administrator contacts providers that have not checked in to confirm whether they can transport.
Red, severe	Providers tell Bay Cities they are stopping service. High-risk trips shift to providers still running, and non-urgent trips are canceled.

Call Bay Cities as soon as you decide to stop or slow service, because the plan has Bay Cities and the provider both try to reach riders who are already scheduled. See NEMT bad weather policy for writing your own plan.

Billing, audits, and records

Your agreement is with Bay Cities. Before you sign, ask the brokerage administrator how it pays for each vehicle type, how often you invoice, how fast it pays, and how it treats no-shows and multiple riders. The vendor application already asks whether you charge extra when several riders go from the same place to the same destination.

Some limits apply to every ride:

• Never bill the member. Under OAR 410-141-3920, neither a CCO nor its transportation subcontractors may bill a member for a ride to covered care, even if payment was denied.
• Keep records 10 years. Oregon treats transportation providers as participating providers for its record rule, OAR 410-141-3520, which keeps clinical records at least 10 years after the date of service.
• Expect audits. Each plan checks that every paid ride was approved and actually happened, including a yearly match of ride claims against medical claims. Umpqua Health’s NEMT quality policy, revised December 11, 2025, lists recoupment of funds and corrective action plans among the steps it can take with its ride subcontractor.

The NEMT trip log template covers the fields a trip record needs, and how to bill NEMT brokers covers invoicing. For plan contracts in general, see how to contract with Medicaid health plans.

Who to call at Bay Cities Brokerage

For	Contact
Provider applications and questions	support@bca-ride.com
Call center, toll-free	877-324-8109, TTY 711
Call center, local	541-266-4323. Fax 541-266-8514
Main office	3505 Ocean Blvd SE, Coos Bay, OR 97420
Roseburg office	At Umpqua Valley Ambulance, 1290 NE Cedar St, Roseburg, OR 97470
Hours	Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a 24-hour line for urgent rides and cancellations
Advanced Health	541-269-7400 or 800-264-0014
Umpqua Health Alliance	541-229-4842 or 866-672-1551

Before you apply, have your OHA enrollment or its status, your NPI, a certificate of insurance, your vehicle counts by type, your hours, and your counties ready. The call center closes on the holidays in its 2026 rider guides, including Thanksgiving on November 26, 2026 and Christmas Day on December 25, 2026, and the Umpqua Health guide adds Veterans Day on November 11, 2026. Plan driver coverage for those days with Bay Cities in advance.