Modivcare in New Mexico: Presbyterian Turquoise Care Rides and the 120-Mile Rule (2027)

In New Mexico, each Turquoise Care health plan picks its own ride vendor, and the Health Care Authority (HCA) pays fee-for-service rides itself. The New Mexico guide covers the state’s licensing, enrollment, and fee schedule, and the Modivcare page covers how Modivcare runs everywhere. This page covers the New Mexico riders Modivcare books, the forms and trip rules that come with them, and what changes on November 1, 2026.

Which New Mexico riders Modivcare books

Presbyterian Health Plan is the anchor. Its 2026 Turquoise Care provider manual, revision C of July 21, 2026, names Modivcare Solutions, LLC as its transportation partner and lists Modivcare’s line for scheduling rides. Presbyterian’s 2026 universal provider manual, revised the same day, lists the same Modivcare line for Presbyterian Dual Plus members too. Dual Plus is Presbyterian’s HMO D-SNP, a Medicare Advantage plan for New Mexicans who have both Medicare and Medicaid and are 65 or older or have certain disabilities.

• Presbyterian Turquoise Care. Medicaid members anywhere in the state. Modivcare’s New Mexico facility page answers “which counties are covered” with the whole state, as of October 2026.
• Children in state custody. HCA enrolls children in state custody in Presbyterian, and Presbyterian’s 2026 member handbook says it supports most of them. Follow the child rules below on every one of these trips.
• Tribal communities. Presbyterian’s Turquoise Care benefit guide tells members it has Native American transportation providers who know their communities and give rides to and from them. If you serve a tribal community, say so when you apply. See tribal NEMT.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico. Modivcare books these Medicaid rides only through October 31, 2026.

HCA lists four Turquoise Care plans, and Modivcare’s New Mexico page carries no ride lines or forms for the other two, Molina and UnitedHealthcare. The New Mexico guide names their ride vendors.

What changes on November 1, 2026

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico’s provider notice of July 15, 2026, updated September 9, 2026, moves its Medicaid rides from Modivcare to MTM Health on November 1, 2026. MTM takes over recurring rides and rides already booked for after that date, and members do nothing. Modivcare’s New Mexico facility page still carried Blue Cross single-trip, standing order, medical necessity, and meal and lodging forms in October 2026, but Blue Cross Medicaid trips stop reaching Modivcare’s network after October 31.

For a company in Modivcare’s New Mexico network, that leaves three jobs. Run and bill every Blue Cross trip with Modivcare through October 31. Apply to MTM Health if you want to keep driving Blue Cross members. And check how much of your schedule is Presbyterian, because those are the Medicaid riders Modivcare keeps after November 1. The full switch is in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico’s move to MTM Health, and the plan’s own rules are on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico page.

How Presbyterian trips reach your vans

Members book with Modivcare at (505) 923-6300 or 1-855-774-7737, with the Presbyterian Customer Service Center at (505) 923-5200 or 1-888-977-2333 on weekdays, or in the Modivcare app. Presbyterian’s 2026 handbook asks for 48 hours of notice, not counting weekends. Same-day rides are only for urgent healthcare or an urgent referral from a primary care provider, and Presbyterian or Modivcare calls the doctor’s office to confirm each appointment before the trip.

Presbyterian’s member materials list ambulatory sedans, fixed-route city buses in Albuquerque, through-the-door service for members who need help from the door to the vehicle, shared rides, and wheelchair vehicles. Modivcare’s New Mexico trip forms add a stretcher box, and Presbyterian’s provider manual requires prior authorization for every non-emergency transfer between facilities.

Facilities have their own lane, run by Modivcare’s Facility Department at 866-400-8233. Its forms route to Modivcare’s office at 2602 S. 47th Street in Phoenix, and the department takes faxes at 866-402-0522.

• Single trips. A one-time trip form must arrive 72 hours before the appointment, every field filled in, and a facility can fax forms for trips up to 30 days out.
• Standing orders. For members with three or more trips a week to the same place, such as dialysis, wound care, behavioral health, or adult day care. The treating facility fills out the form, a physician signs it, and Modivcare recertifies it every quarter. See NEMT standing orders.
• Preferred providers. A facility may name the company it wants when it books. Modivcare notes the request but assigns by routing criteria that include provider compliance. This is your opening with a dialysis center that already likes your drivers.
• Discharges and returns. Modivcare’s facility FAQs, as posted in October 2026, give the transportation provider up to four hours to respond to a hospital discharge and up to one hour to reach a member who calls for a will-call return.

Rules your drivers follow on Presbyterian trips

Presbyterian’s 2026 member handbook sets the rules members are told, so your drivers should run to them:

• Pickup window. Through-the-door rides get a 30-minute window, from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the pickup time. The driver waits up to 15 minutes inside the window before leaving.
• Signature. At pickup, the member signs a form confirming Medicaid eligibility and may write their member ID. The standing order form asks whether the member can sign the driver’s log and whether that will stay the same, so read it before the first ride.
• Cancellations. Members must cancel at least 24 hours before pickup, or four hours ahead in rural areas. A member who misses three or more rides in a month gets a call and can lose through-the-door service.
• Children. A parent or legal guardian rides with any child under 12. A child 12 to 17 rides alone only after a parent or guardian signs a release and gives emergency contacts. Modivcare’s Presbyterian minor consent form is that release, and it commits the guardian to tell Modivcare within 48 hours if guardianship changes.
• Attendants. An adult member’s attendant must be over 18, able to help, and named in a doctor’s letter. Modivcare’s Presbyterian attendant certificate is signed by a physician, PA, or nurse practitioner and lasts 90 days, 180 days, or another period the provider sets. See escorts and caregivers.
• Classes. Rides to diabetes classes, tobacco cessation, 12-step meetings, and prenatal classes are covered only when they are part of a treatment plan, and Modivcare checks with Presbyterian first.

The 120-mile form and other long trips

Since September 1, 2026, New Mexico’s transportation rule, 8.324.7 NMAC, says that when a member travels more than 120 miles from home for care, the transportation provider must get written verification from the referring or treating provider and keep it in its billing records, renewed every 12 months. HCA told the Turquoise Care plans to apply the same limit in Letter of Direction 40 on November 16, 2024.

For Presbyterian riders, that verification is Modivcare’s “Presbyterian MNF 120+ Miles” form. Only the member’s attending physician, physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner may sign it. It summarizes why the member must travel, marks how long the need lasts (12 months or another period), and goes to Modivcare by fax. If the provider checks that the trip is not medically necessary, the member cannot book it. Ask your Modivcare contact how you receive a copy with each long trip, because the rule puts the record in your files.

Presbyterian’s handbook adds limits of its own. Modivcare coordinates approved trips inside New Mexico and to cities within 100 miles of the border, not counting Mexico, while Presbyterian arranges approved out-of-state travel beyond that by bus, train, or air. A member who self-refers to a provider in another city gets no ride there, and rides go only to the closest appropriate provider. For the economics of these runs, see rural NEMT.

Keep every trip log as complete as the form. HCA’s Supplement 26-05 of September 3, 2026 required NEMT management and billing staff to attend training after a federal payment error audit found a trip log with the attendant left off and taxi miles billed that did not match the record. See New Mexico’s NEMT provider training and NEMT trip documentation.

How to join and get paid

Two state steps come first: a non-emergency medical transport certificate and approved tariff from the NMDOT Transportation Regulation Bureau, and HCA enrollment at YES.NM.GOV. The New Mexico guide walks through both, including the fees and the 20-day notice period.

Then apply on Modivcare’s Become a Transportation Provider form. As of October 2026 it asks for drivers with a PASS wheelchair certificate, First Aid and CPR, defensive driving, a drug screen, a motor vehicle report, and a background check, plus general liability, sexual abuse and molestation coverage, auto liability, and workers’ compensation, with limits that vary by state. Ask for Modivcare’s New Mexico limits in writing. The Modivcare page covers its trip portal and billing.

Your Modivcare agreement sets what Presbyterian trips pay. For comparison, HCA’s fee-for-service schedule effective January 1, 2025 pays $2.06 a loaded mile by taxi and $1.78 by wheelchair van, up to $300 a one-way trip, for rides billed to HCA directly. See negotiating broker rates.

Who to call

For	Contact
Presbyterian member rides and discharges	Modivcare, (505) 923-6300 or 1-855-774-7737
Presbyterian Customer Service Center	(505) 923-5200 or 1-888-977-2333
Facility trips and standing orders	Modivcare Facility Department, 866-400-8233, fax 866-402-0522
Joining Modivcare’s network	Become a Transportation Provider form on Modivcare’s website
Blue Cross members from November 1, 2026	MTM Health, 866-913-4342
NMDOT certificate and tariff	Transportation Regulation Bureau, (505) 827-4519
HCA enrollment help	1-800-299-7304

What to do first

1. Get your NMDOT certificate and tariff, then enroll with HCA at YES.NM.GOV.
2. Apply to Modivcare and list every county and tribal community you can serve, with your wheelchair capacity.
3. Visit the dialysis centers and clinics near you and ask them to name your company on their Presbyterian standing orders.
4. Train drivers on Presbyterian’s rules: the 30-minute window, the 15-minute wait, the signature form, and the child and attendant forms.
5. Set up a file for 120-mile forms so each long trip’s verification sits with its claim.
6. Close out Blue Cross with Modivcare by October 31, 2026, and apply to MTM Health if you want those riders after November 1.