SafeRide Health in Michigan: Meridian and Priority Health Rides (2027)

SafeRide Health, based in San Antonio, works for Michigan health plans, not for the state. Michigan has no single Medicaid ride broker: each health plan picks its own, and members without a plan ride through local MDHHS offices, or through Modivcare in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. The Michigan guide covers that system and the state’s licensing, so this page covers only the rides that run through SafeRide.

Which Michigan plans book rides through SafeRide

As of September 30, 2026, these plans’ own pages and member documents send members to SafeRide or its ride lines:

Plan	Members	With SafeRide	Member ride line
Meridian	Medicaid, and Wellcare by Meridian	Since May 1, 2024	877-841-1356, 24 hours a day
Priority Health Choice	Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan	Every ride since September 8, 2024, after SafeRide began with the plan December 1, 2023	833-944-0535, 24 hours a day
PriorityMedicare Dual Premier	Medicare and Michigan Medicaid, 10 counties	Named in the 2026 member handbook	833-944-0535
PriorityMedicare D-SNP	Medicare and Michigan Medicaid, the other 58 Lower Peninsula counties	Ride line in the 2026 Evidence of Coverage	855-932-5418, Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Until September 8, 2024, Priority coordinated its own Medicaid rides. A company that took trips straight from Priority before then needs a SafeRide agreement now; NEMT broker transitions covers what a hand-off like that does to your paperwork. The D-SNP’s Evidence of Coverage calls its ride vendor “our transportation partner” and gives 855-932-5418, the number SafeRide’s site lists for Priority Health members.

SafeRide’s site also lists Molina Healthcare of Michigan. By September 2026, it had a member page for the plan and a mileage reimbursement program for Molina of Michigan Medicaid members, both on 888-616-4842. The Molina Healthcare of Michigan page has that plan’s ride lines and booking rules, and your network vendor manager can tell you which Molina trips SafeRide sends. The remaining Michigan plans use other brokers or run their own rides, and the Michigan guide lists them.

For each plan’s benefit from the member side, see Meridian Michigan transportation and Priority Health Medicaid transportation.

Where SafeRide has Medicaid riders, county by county

Meridian covers 44 counties and Priority Health Choice covers 37, by each plan’s map of its area since October 1, 2024. Laid over each other, they reach 65 of the Lower Peninsula’s 68 counties:

Counties	SafeRide Medicaid plans there
Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Macomb, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oakland, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, Wayne (16)	Meridian and Priority Health Choice
Arenac, Bay, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Clare, Genesee, Gladwin, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Huron, Isabella, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Midland, Monroe, Saginaw, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Van Buren, Washtenaw (28)	Meridian only
Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Wexford (21)	Priority Health Choice only
Clinton, Eaton, Ingham	Neither, though PriorityMedicare D-SNP covers them
All 15 Upper Peninsula counties	Neither

Read by region, the table gives four different markets:

• Grand Rapids, the lakeshore from Allegan to Mason, and metro Detroit. Both plans have members here, so one SafeRide agreement reaches members of both. In Barry, Wayne, and Macomb, Priority’s Dual Premier members add trips.
• Flint, Saginaw, Midland, the Thumb, Ann Arbor, Jackson, and the southwest. Meridian is SafeRide’s only Medicaid plan here. In the southwest, Priority’s Dual Premier members add trips.
• Traverse City, Alpena, and the rest of the north. Priority Health Choice is SafeRide’s only Medicaid plan in these 21 rural counties. Priority’s provider manual, updated February 21, 2026, still describes SafeRide’s cab and specialty companies as covering “all 23 counties we serve”, its count before October 2024, so ask how many vehicles SafeRide has up north. See rural NEMT.
• Lansing. No SafeRide Medicaid plan covers Clinton, Eaton, or Ingham. PriorityMedicare D-SNP is the one Priority plan there.

Rides for Priority’s dual eligible members

Priority Health runs two plans for dual eligible members, people with both Medicare and Michigan Medicaid. Both cover rides at $0, with different limits:

	PriorityMedicare Dual Premier	PriorityMedicare D-SNP
Counties	Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Macomb, St. Joseph, Van Buren, Wayne	The rest of the Lower Peninsula
Rides	Unlimited, to medical appointments and services	30 one-way trips a year, each up to 100 miles
How rides are given	SafeRide, bus tokens, or mileage	Rideshare, van, medical transport, or mileage, as the ride partner decides

A D-SNP round trip uses two of the 30 trips. A ride canceled less than 3 hours before pickup still counts against the year’s total, so D-SNP riders have a reason to cancel early.

Dual Premier is a highly integrated dual eligible special needs plan, the plan type behind MI Coordinated Health, which replaced MI Health Link on January 1, 2026. That matters to your paperwork. Michigan’s Medicaid Provider Manual, dated October 1, 2026, says every provider of such a plan must enroll with Michigan Medicaid, and it names NEMT providers among those the plan may not pay without CHAMPS enrollment. The plan may sign a provider for up to 120 days while that enrollment is pending.

Seven of Dual Premier’s counties, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren, were in Priority’s Medicaid area on July 1, 2024, by CMS’s count, and left it on October 1, 2024. So in those seven counties, the Priority riders SafeRide books are now Dual Premier members. For how these plans differ from regular Medicare Advantage, see Medicare Advantage transportation.

How to join SafeRide for Michigan trips

1. Register with the right state office. Michigan’s limousine act covers for-hire vehicles with 8 or fewer seats, driver included, which register with LARA. Vehicles with 9 or more need an MDOT certificate of authority: Form 3184 costs $300 plus $100 per vehicle, your insurer files Form 3040, and MDOT says processing may take two weeks. The Michigan guide has LARA’s steps and fees.
2. Enroll in CHAMPS. The manual’s NEMT chapter says NEMT agency providers must consent to screening, done through CHAMPS enrollment, to receive Medicaid reimbursement, and Dual Premier cannot pay you without it. NEMT companies enroll as atypical providers. SafeRide’s form asks whether you are approved for Medicaid rides and for your Medicaid provider ID.
3. Send SafeRide’s form. Pick Michigan under states of operation and type every county you can serve, separated by commas. Enter a real NPI, or the form will not go through properly, and finish within 30 days, or the application starts over.
4. Pass credentialing. SafeRide’s company, driver, and vehicle checklist is on our SafeRide Health page, and broker credentialing shows how to keep the files current.
5. Ask what is short. Ask your network vendor manager which plans and levels of service need more capacity in your counties.

Insurance: Michigan’s auto floor is higher than SafeRide’s

SafeRide’s list asks for $500,000 in auto liability. Michigan’s limousine act asks more of a LARA carrier: a $1,000,000 combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage, plus no-fault personal protection and property protection insurance, kept in force as a condition of the license (MCL 257.2119). Buy the state limit. Then have your certificate name SafeRide as additional insured and show at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate in general liability. MDOT sets its own limits for buses; see NEMT insurance requirements and the Michigan guide.

Stretcher trips

SafeRide’s network lists stretcher, basic life support, and advanced life support levels. Michigan’s Public Health Code calls a person carried by stretcher, cot, or litter a nonemergency patient, and it defines an ambulance operation as a licensed provider of patient transport (MCL 333.20902 and 333.20908). Ask MDHHS before you take SafeRide stretcher trips in a van, and see the Michigan guide.

Where your vans fit in SafeRide’s Michigan work

Both Medicaid plans pay bus fare and mileage where they fit, and Priority adds rideshare and cabs, so many riders never reach a van:

• Priority. Its September 2024 notice said SafeRide coordinates rideshare trips and dispatches NEMT providers for special assistance, such as wheelchair service. Its provider manual, updated February 21, 2026, adds bus tickets, and members who drive or have someone drive them get $0.67 a mile by check.
• Meridian. Its provider manual, revised March 2026, assigns each member “the most appropriate and cost-effective means of transportation” in the network. SafeRide pays mileage to the drivers Meridian members register, such as a family member or friend.

So lead with what a car or cab cannot do. The Dual Premier handbook tells members who need wheelchair space or oxygen to book as early as possible so they are matched with the right vendor. See starting a wheelchair transportation business and NEMT vs rideshare.

How far ahead riders book decides how early trips reach your schedule:

Plan	Members book
Meridian	At least 72 hours ahead, with same-day rides for urgent visits (NEMT page, July 2, 2026)
Priority Health Choice	At least three business days ahead (notice, September 2024). Maternal Infant Health Program members can book 30 days ahead (manual, February 21, 2026).
PriorityMedicare Dual Premier	Three days ahead, or up to 30 days ahead to set up a whole month (2026 handbook)
PriorityMedicare D-SNP	At least 48 hours before pickup. Shorter notice depends on availability (2026 Evidence of Coverage).

Dual Premier’s 30-day window suits a dialysis patient who rides three times a week. Ask SafeRide how it releases those repeat trips; see standing orders.

Who to call

For	Contact
Joining SafeRide’s network	team@saferidehealth.com or (855) 955-7433
Questions once you are in	Your network vendor manager
Provider and driver sign in	app.saferidehealth.com
Meridian member rides	877-841-1356, 24 hours a day
Priority Health Choice and Dual Premier rides	833-944-0535
PriorityMedicare D-SNP rides	855-932-5418, Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Meridian and Molina meals and lodging	(833) 944-0517, weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Priority meals and lodging approval on trips over 50 miles	Priority’s provider line, 616-575-5770 (September 2024)
MDOT bus authority	MDOT-BUSLimo@Michigan.gov or (517) 241-0679

What to do first

1. Find your counties in the table above and note which SafeRide plans have members there.
2. Register your vehicles with LARA or MDOT, insured to the state limit ($1,000,000 for a LARA carrier).
3. Start CHAMPS enrollment now, since Dual Premier cannot pay you without it.
4. Send SafeRide’s form in one sitting, with every Michigan county you serve.
5. Ask your network vendor manager for wheelchair and dual plan trips, and whether Molina trips come through SafeRide where you drive.
6. Cover the other plans by applying to MTM Health in Michigan too, and read how to contract with Medicaid health plans.