How to Become a Ventura Transit System Provider in 2027: Gold Coast and CenCal Rides

Ventura Transit System (VTS) is a Camarillo transportation company that books Medi-Cal rides for two county health plans on California’s Central Coast. It also drives. VTS holds its own NPIs as a non-emergency medical transport van company, both issued in 2011, and it runs rides for local programs. So a company that joins its network works beside VTS’s own fleet, taking the trips VTS sends to its partners.

Which plans and counties VTS serves

As of September 2026, VTS arranges non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) and non-medical transportation (NMT) for these plans:

Health plan	Counties	Member ride line at VTS	Medi-Cal members, August 2026
Gold Coast Health Plan	Ventura	(855) 628-7433	222,639
CenCal Health	Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo	(855) 659-4600	225,029

Gold Coast’s transportation page lists VTS at (855) 628-7433, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., while VTS’s own Gold Coast pages list (805) 628-7433.

Both are county organized health systems. The Medi-Cal provider manual describes that model as a plan run by a county government entity that is the only Medi-Cal plan in its county. Kaiser Permanente is a second choice for some members in certain Ventura County ZIP codes. For nearly everyone else on Medi-Cal in the three counties, a plan ride means a VTS ride. CenCal says its rides are offered mainly through VTS.

CenCal’s member page calls VTS its transportation vendor, and its provider page, updated May 14, 2026, says CenCal partners with VTS to schedule and manage rides. CenCal also treats VTS as a delegate and audits it every year. The 2025 audit produced a corrective action plan, issued in late July 2025 and closed by January 2026, CenCal’s board packets show. APL 22-008 requires each plan to check that its brokers and their transportation companies meet the rules, so keep your driver files and trip logs ready for review.

VTS runs other transportation too. The Ventura County Transportation Commission contracts with VTS for countywide on-demand rides in wheelchair accessible vehicles under the state’s Access for All program, 24 hours a day at $2.50 a mile. In San Luis Obispo County, VTS operates the Senior Go ride program for people 65 and older. Neither is Medi-Cal work.

For every other Medi-Cal plan in the state and who books its rides, see the California guide.

How to become a Ventura Transit System provider

VTS takes applications through one online form. Have these ready before you start.

1. Get a Type 2 NPI for your company. A corporation or LLC needs its own organizational NPI. See how to get an NPI number for NEMT.
2. Enroll in Medi-Cal through PAVE. Choose NEMT for wheelchair and litter vans, NMT for cars, or both. APL 22-008 lets a plan use you for up to 120 days while your application is pending. The plan must end the contract if DHCS denies you or the 120 days run out, and cannot contract with you again until you are enrolled.
3. Get a business license for your company from your city or county.
4. Buy the insurance VTS asks about. The form asks whether you carry liability insurance with limits of $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 aggregate.
5. Price your trips. Decide your rates for each service level before you open the form. The benchmarks are in the pay section below.
6. Fill in the VTS Provider Form. It is linked from the Partner With Us page. VTS says a team member reviews each submission and follows up to discuss the work.

What the VTS Provider Form asks

Section	What it asks
Contact	Your name, phone, email, and job title
Company	Business name and NPI
Compliance	A current business license, liability limits of $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 aggregate, and Medi-Cal registration (yes or no)
Staff	How many drivers your business has
Service area	Ventura, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern, or other counties
Wheelchair	Number of wheelchair vehicles and your rates for pickup, per mile, per 30 minutes of wait, and per attendant
Gurney	The same four rates and your number of gurney vehicles
Ambulatory	The same four rates and your number of ambulatory vehicles

Answer the three yes or no compliance questions honestly. If you answer no on Medi-Cal registration, a plan can let VTS use you for 120 days at most, and only after your application is submitted. The NEMT credentialing checklist keeps the documents in one place.

What VTS and Medi-Cal require

VTS’s insurance and license questions sit on top of Medi-Cal’s rules, which apply to every van in a plan network.

Wheelchair vans. Under 22 CCR 51231.2, each van needs a lift or ramp rated for at least 450 pounds, room for at least two riders in standard wheelchairs, an emergency exit other than the loading door, and your business name on both sides and the rear in letters at least 4 inches tall. Each year you give the local Medi-Cal field office your hours, service area, and a brake and light certificate. The California guide covers litter vans and the full equipment list.

Drivers. A wheelchair van driver must be at least 18, hold a California driver license, carry a current first aid certificate, and have passed a physical within the past two years on DMV form DL-51. Check each driver against the HHS OIG exclusion list before the first ride. See NEMT driver requirements.

Service levels. VTS’s policies define three: curb to curb for riders who need no help, door to door for riders who cannot walk or stand without help, and gurney service, where the driver or an assistant moves the rider from bed to gurney. Its hospital discharge form also lists extra large and extended wheelchairs, oxygen, dialysis, isolation for communicable disease, and basic or advanced life support. Tell VTS exactly which of these your fleet and staff can handle.

How VTS trips are booked and run

Booking and cancellation rules

VTS asks members to book at least two business days before the appointment and to confirm the destination is covered. Its scheduling desk is open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed weekends and holidays. Its published policies add:

• Exceptions to the two-day rule: hospital discharges, emergency surgeries, dialysis, and wound care.
• Cancellations: members give 24 hours’ notice, and changes to a booked ride need two business days.
• Pickup window: VTS drivers have a 15-minute grace period. Members call VTS if the driver is more than 15 minutes late.
• Minors: a rider 13 or older may travel without a parent with a signed consent form. Under 13, a parent or guardian rides along. Parents supply and install car seats for children under 8.
• Service animals: allowed, and treated as the rider’s attendant.

Physician Certification Statements

NEMT rides need written approval from the member’s doctor or other treating provider. CenCal requires an approved Physician Certification Statement (PCS) for every NEMT ride, sent to its Utilization Management department by fax at (805) 681-3071, through its secure file drop, or through its provider portal. A CenCal PCS lasts up to 12 months, and CenCal asks for transportation requests 5 to 7 business days ahead so the authorization can be processed. Non-medical rides need no PCS. See NEMT medical necessity forms.

APL 22-008 limits what a broker can do with that form. VTS must arrange the ride type the provider prescribed and cannot downgrade a member from NEMT to NMT. If more than one type is checked, the lowest cost one may be used. The plan reviews the PCS itself and cannot hand that job to its broker.

Door-to-door help and round trips

CenCal says every NEMT trip includes door-to-door help. Going out, the driver helps the member from the front door to the vehicle, and from the vehicle to inside the building. Coming back, the driver helps from the lobby or check-in area to the vehicle, and from the vehicle to the front door. CenCal rides are round trips, and trips outside Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties need approval first. See door-to-door service.

Hospital discharges

Hospitals and nursing facilities book discharges through VTS’s online Discharge Intake Form, which covers CenCal, Gold Coast, and private riders. APL 22-008 requires a ride from an acute hospital stay to a skilled nursing facility, an intermediate care facility, or a psychiatric facility within 3 hours of the request, or the hospital may arrange an out-of-network ride that the plan must cover. If you can send a van within hours, tell VTS, since discharge rides cannot wait for the next day. See hospital discharge transportation.

Trip records

APL 22-008 requires each plan to have its broker identify the company and driver on every ride by date, time, pickup and drop-off, and member name. Log every leg the same way. A trip log that matches VTS’s records settles disputes quickly.

How VTS pays and what to ask for

Your partner agreement sets your pay, and VTS asks you to propose it. The form’s rate boxes line up with the codes fee-for-service Medi-Cal pays, so the state’s maximums make a good benchmark when you fill them in.

VTS rate box	Medi-Cal code	Fee-for-service maximum
Wheelchair pickup	A0130	$20.30, or $26.43 at night (UJ)
Gurney pickup	T2005	$26.29, or $32.42 at night (UJ)
Wheelchair or gurney mile	A0380	$1.50 a mile
Wait, per 30 minutes	T2007	$11.30 per half hour
Attendant	T2001	$5.52
Ambulatory pickup	A0120	$17.65, or $23.78 at night (UJ)
Ambulatory mile	A0390	$1.30 a mile

The NEMT figures come from Medi-Cal manual pages updated September 2023, and the ambulatory figures from pages updated August 2020. Medi-Cal’s night rate covers trips between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. It pays wait time only after the first 15 minutes, and for no more than 90 minutes. Medi-Cal pays mileage from the rider’s pickup to the destination, so build your empty miles into the rates you propose, especially for far pickups in the Ojai Valley, the Cuyama Valley, or northern San Luis Obispo County. See rural NEMT and how to negotiate broker rates.

Before you sign, get these answers from VTS in writing:

• How you receive trips and how far ahead.
• How you report completed trips, and how often VTS pays.
• What happens to your pay on a no-show or late cancellation.
• Which counties and hours VTS expects you to cover.

One statewide change lands soon. From January 1, 2027, Medi-Cal plan members with unsatisfactory immigration status move to fee-for-service Medi-Cal, so their rides will no longer come through Gold Coast, CenCal, or VTS. Companies enrolled directly with DHCS through PAVE can keep serving them. The California guide explains that process.

Who to call

For	Contact
Partner applications	VTS Provider Form, linked from venturatransit.com/partnership
VTS main office	(805) 383-5544, 280 Skyway Dr, Camarillo, CA 93010
Gold Coast member rides	(855) 628-7433 on Gold Coast’s page, (805) 628-7433 on VTS’s pages
Gold Coast discharge questions	(805) 628-7433
Gold Coast Member Services	1-888-301-1228, TTY 711
CenCal member rides and discharges	(855) 659-4600, TTY 711
CenCal Member Services	1-877-814-1861
CenCal Utilization Management (PCS forms)	Fax (805) 681-3071
Access for All wheelchair rides in Ventura County	(805) 519-0009

To add Medi-Cal work beyond these three counties, compare Call the Car, the plans that book their own rides such as Partnership HealthPlan, and how to contract with Medicaid health plans.