How to Become an IEHP NEMT Provider in 2027: Contracts, PCS Forms, and Pay

Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is the publicly operated Medi-Cal health plan for Riverside and San Bernardino counties, established in 1996. It is not a broker. It is the health plan itself, and since May 12, 2026 its own Transportation Department has managed every NEMT trip: the wheelchair van, gurney van, and ambulance rides its members take. So a wheelchair or gurney company now contracts with the plan, not with a broker.

IEHP’s September 2026 fact sheet gives the size of the work:

IEHP program	Members, September 2026	Transportation benefit
Medi-Cal	1,323,819	Yes
IEHP DualChoice (HMO D-SNP, for members with Medi-Cal and Medicare)	38,163	Yes
IEHP Covered (Covered California)	34,433	No
Total	1,396,415

The same fact sheet says IEHP serves more than 90 percent of the Medi-Cal managed care market in the region, compared with its commercial counterpart, Molina Healthcare. Members of other Medi-Cal plans get their rides through their own plan. See the California guide for who books rides for each plan.

What changed on May 12, 2026

IEHP’s rides have changed hands twice since 2023:

Date	Change
February 1, 2023	Call the Car replaced American Logistics for all IEHP member transportation, every line of business except Kaiser
October 15, 2025	Transportation vendors lost the ability to submit trip requests in IEHP’s Provider Portal
May 12, 2026	IEHP began managing all NEMT trips directly. Call the Car kept non-medical transportation

IEHP’s member page explained the handover. NEMT trips dated before May 12, 2026 stayed with Call the Car, and trips on May 12 or later moved to IEHP. A cancellation notice from Call the Car meant the trip had moved, not that it was canceled. IEHP’s member page, current as of May 12, 2026, says it contracts with more than 60 transportation providers. It told members that their vehicle type and level of help should stay the same, and in most cases so should their transportation provider. See IEHP takes NEMT in-house.

Which door you knock on now depends on the ride type:

Ride type	Who arranges it for IEHP members	Needs a PCS form
NEMT: wheelchair van, litter (gurney) van, ambulance	IEHP’s Transportation Department	Yes
NMT: rideshare, curb-to-curb car rides, bus passes	Call the Car	No

Wheelchair and gurney companies now contract with IEHP. IEHP’s non-medical rides still come through Call the Car, so a company that runs sedans for NMT should apply there too. IEHP’s own application also counts sedans, and its billing guideline has a “Door” NEMT service level, covered below, so ask IEHP which of your vehicles it can use.

Who can ride and where

All active IEHP Medi-Cal and DualChoice members can use the transportation benefit. It covers rides to and from IEHP and Medi-Cal covered services with prior authorization, including mental health, substance use, and dental visits. IEHP Covered plans do not include it. Members start with IEHP whether the appointment is inside or outside Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

IEHP’s 2026 letter of interest form lists eight service areas across the two counties. You pick the ones you will cover:

IEHP service areas (2026 letter of interest form)
Corona/Temecula/Hemet
High Desert
Low Desert
Mohave Valley
Palo Verde Valley
Riverside
San Bernardino Proper
West San Bernardino

Member rules that affect your drivers, from IEHP’s member page:

• One extra passenger. A member who needs help may bring one person.
• Service animals. They are allowed.
• Minors. A member under 18 riding without a parent needs IEHP’s Transportation Consent for Unaccompanied Minors on file, signed by a parent or guardian.
• Door-to-door help. On NEMT rides the driver helps the member from the front door to the vehicle, and from the vehicle to the door of the doctor’s office. See door-to-door service.

How to join IEHP’s transportation network

IEHP contracts with transportation companies through its ancillary provider contracts. The steps:

1. Get the right NPI. A corporation, LLC, or partnership needs a Type 2 NPI, even with one owner, and a sole proprietor uses a Type 1. DHCS lists a Type 1 NPI on a corporation or LLC application as a common reason for denial. See how to get an NPI number for NEMT.
2. Enroll in Medi-Cal through PAVE. Choose NEMT (wheelchair van, litter van, or both), NMT, or both. The application fee CMS set for 2026 is $750, unless you already paid it to Medicare or another state’s Medicaid program for that location.
3. Fill in IEHP’s letter of interest form. The 2026 version asks for your TIN, group NPI, contact details, line of business (Medi-Cal, Medicare, or Covered California), and service areas. Its transportation section asks which Medi-Cal services you are approved for, how many sedans, wheelchair vans, and gurney vans you run, which dispatch system you use, and the ZIP codes you serve.
4. Email your packet. Send the form, a W-9, and proof of Medi-Cal enrollment or proof you submitted your application to jointhenetwork@iehp.org. IEHP also posts an ownership information form that asks you to list officers, owners, stockholders, and creditors with ownership percentages.
5. Wait for review. IEHP checks that you meet its initial participation criteria, and completing the form does not guarantee a contract. It says any delay in receiving documents pushes back the effective date of the contract it mails you.
6. Sign and stay current. Every IEHP provider submits a Provider Acknowledgment of Receipt each year, confirming it received and reviewed IEHP’s policy and procedure manuals.

While your Medi-Cal application is pending

DHCS gives itself up to 180 days for the first review of an application, its June 2023 guide for transportation providers says. If your application comes back for corrections, you have 60 days to fix and resubmit it, and it may be referred for an on-site inspection of your office and vehicles.

Under All Plan Letter 22-008 (May 18, 2022), a plan may let you take trips for up to 120 days while enrollment is pending. It must end the contract if DHCS denies you or the 120 days run out, and it cannot contract with you again until you are enrolled. Apply to DHCS first, then send IEHP your proof of submission. The NEMT credentialing checklist keeps the documents together.

What Medi-Cal and local rules require

IEHP’s network runs on Medi-Cal enrollment, so DHCS rules set the floor. Its June 2023 guide lists these documents:

	NMT (cars and minivans)	NEMT (wheelchair and litter vans)
Each vehicle	DMV commercial registration, proof of commercial vehicle insurance	The same, plus a brake and lamp certificate when the registration shows a salvaged title
Each driver	Driver’s license, California DMV driving history printout, medical examination report (MCSA-5875), medical examiner’s certificate (MCSA-5876)	The same, plus first aid and CPR certificates, alcohol test results, and a pre-employment drug test
Your company	Articles of incorporation for corporations, a state-issued ID, proof of your EIN such as IRS Letter 147C, a local business license if your city or county requires one, a fictitious business name statement if you use one, your lease if you rent your office, workers’ compensation insurance	The same

A wheelchair van must seat at least two riders in standard wheelchairs, have an emergency exit besides the loading door that fits a wheelchair, and carry a lift or ramp rated for at least 450 pounds. A litter van needs two entrances that fit a gurney, a two-person gurney with restraining straps, and a driver plus an attendant on every trip. Both display your business name on both sides and the rear in letters at least 4 inches tall. Your office must be open for business in a building you own or lease.

Federal law adds a floor under all of it. Under section 1902(a)(87) of the Social Security Act, as CMS explained on September 28, 2023, no NEMT provider or driver may be on a federal exclusion list, each driver needs a valid license, and your company needs processes for state drug law violations and for disclosing each driver’s driving history to the state. See the OIG exclusion list.

Local permits

• Unincorporated Riverside County. Ordinance No. 698 treats a non-emergency medical van as a taxicab. A van that picks up customers in unincorporated areas needs a county permit from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, with at least $750,000 in public liability insurance and a licensed mechanic’s inspection within 60 days of applying. Each driver needs a county driver’s permit, with Sheriff’s Department fingerprints and a five-year traffic record. Permits last one year and cannot be transferred.
• Cities and San Bernardino County. Ask each city and county you operate in whether it licenses medical vans or requires a business license.
• Public Utilities Commission. Public Utilities Code section 5353(i) exempts vehicles used only for medical transportation from charter-party carrier rules. The commission applies it van by van, and a van that also takes other paid passenger trips can lose it.

How IEHP trips are requested and run

Who requests the ride

Since October 15, 2025, only the member’s assigned primary care provider or treating physician may submit a transportation request in IEHP’s Provider Portal. Transportation vendors can still see the status of a request under Referral Status, More Options, Transportation. Members can also call IEHP Member Services at 1-800-440-4347 and choose the transportation prompt, 24 hours a day, at least five calendar days before a routine appointment. Members call IEHP, not your company, to change or cancel an NEMT ride or report a late driver, and IEHP sends them trip confirmations and ride updates.

Hospitals can fax IEHP’s own transportation request form, last revised January 24, 2024. The hospital form asks for the member’s height and weight on every wheelchair or gurney trip, and lets the facility choose standard, bariatric, or electric wheelchairs, a vendor-supplied wheelchair, or a bariatric, BLS, ALS, or critical care gurney, plus stair help and an attendant. Since IEHP’s June 24, 2026 notice, skilled nursing and long-term care facilities can also ask for a wait and return on their requests. Know which of those your fleet can handle before you sign.

The PCS form

Every NEMT ride needs a Physician Certification Statement (PCS) on file. IEHP’s form, approved by DHCS on December 23, 2024, must be signed by the member’s primary care or treating provider, with every field completed. It lists the mode (ambulance, litter van or gurney, wheelchair van, or air) and the member’s limitations, such as hemodialysis, oxygen, dementia, or a high fall risk. It is good for 12 months from the transportation start date.

Neither IEHP nor any broker may change the mode after the provider prescribes it, unless the provider checked more than one mode (APL 22-008). Then the lowest cost mode may be used. See NEMT medical necessity forms.

Timing rules from DHCS

All Plan Letter 22-008 puts two duties on IEHP that land on your dispatch desk:

• Late or missing rides. If the NEMT provider is late or does not arrive at the scheduled pickup, the plan must authorize an urgent NEMT ride so the member does not miss the appointment. When your driver is late, IEHP has to authorize an urgent ride so the member still makes the appointment.
• Hospital discharges. A ride from an acute hospital stay to a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate care facility, or a psychiatric facility must happen within 3 hours of the request. If it does not, the hospital may arrange an out-of-network ride, and the plan must cover it. These transfers, and moves from an emergency room to an inpatient bed, need no prior authorization. See hospital discharge transportation.

How IEHP pays for rides

Your contract sets your rates. IEHP’s Transportation Billing Guidelines, posted May 1, 2024, list the codes it expects for each service level and say contract terms determine what you are paid:

Service	Pickup	Mileage	No-show or cancellation	Wait time	Extra attendant	Night pickup, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Door	T2001	A0425	T2001-TP	A0420		A0428-UJ
Wheelchair	A0130	A0380	A0130-TP	A0420	A0424	A0428-UJ
Gurney	T2005	A0380	T2005-TP	A0420	A0424	A0428-UJ
Bariatric gurney	T2005	A0380	T2005-TP	A0420	A0424	A0428-UJ

For a benchmark when you negotiate, fee-for-service Medi-Cal pays these maximums in provider manual pages updated September 2023: $20.30 for a wheelchair van pickup (A0130), $26.43 at night, $26.29 for a litter van pickup (T2005), and $1.50 a mile (A0380) for both. See A0130, T2005, and NEMT billing codes.

Send claims electronically with payer ID IEHP1 for Medi-Cal and DualChoice members, or on paper to IEHP Direct Claims, P.O. Box 4349, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91729-4349. Medi-Cal claim appeals go by mail to P.O. Box 4319 at the same city and ZIP code. For how plan contracts differ from broker work, see how to contract with Medicaid health plans.

Who to call

For	Contact
New contracts and application packets	jointhenetwork@iehp.org
Medi-Cal enrollment questions at IEHP	ProviderNetwork@iehp.org
IEHP Transportation Department, for providers	(951) 374-3441, fax (909) 912-1049, transportationservices@iehp.org
Transportation vendor line	(877) 761-6248
IEHP Provider Call Center	(909) 890-2054 or (866) 223-4347, ProviderServices@iehp.org
Member ride booking	1-800-440-4347, transportation prompt, TTY 1-800-718-4347
Non-medical rides through Call the Car	1-855-673-3195
DHCS Provider Enrollment Division	(916) 323-1945, option 4 then option 1. PAVE help desk (866) 252-1949
IEHP headquarters	10801 Sixth St., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730. (909) 890-2000

Before you email IEHP, have your Medi-Cal approval or application receipt, NPI, W-9, vehicle counts by type, and service ZIP codes ready. Decide which of the eight service areas, which wheelchair and gurney types, and which hours you will cover, since the request forms ask facilities for exactly that.