VPTA Medicaid Transportation: How Vermont Rides Work in 2027

VPTA, the Vermont Public Transportation Association, is a nonprofit association of Vermont’s public transit providers, with its office in Bennington. The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), which runs Vermont Medicaid, contracts with VPTA to arrange non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) for the whole state. VPTA does not drive the riders. Its regional members do, with volunteer drivers, agency vans and buses, and taxis.

A June 2026 state notice calls VPTA Vermont Medicaid’s NEMT broker. Vermont runs these rides through the agencies that run its public buses and dial-a-ride services. For how those services differ from NEMT, see paratransit vs NEMT, and for how other states set up their rides, see how states run NEMT.

How VPTA runs Vermont Medicaid rides

The work is split four ways.

Who	What they do
DVHA	Writes the rules in its NEMT Program Manual (last updated July 28, 2025), approves trips of 100 or more miles one way and out-of-state trips, and pays VPTA
VPTA	Holds the statewide contract, answers the toll-free line, subcontracts with the regional providers, and reports rides and background checks to DVHA
Regional providers	Check each rider’s eligibility, book the least costly mode that fits, dispatch the ride, and submit claims to the state’s fiscal agent
Taxi and other subcontracted companies	Drive the trips a regional provider gives them, under the same background check and paperwork rules

DVHA’s contract with VPTA, number 41132, began on January 1, 2021. Amendment 6 extended its end date to June 30, 2026. Amendment 8, dated May 29, 2026 and signed in September 2026, raised the contract maximum to $91,825,242.01 and capped payments for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 at $18,100,000. The amendments posted as of September 2026 do not move the end date, and DVHA’s NEMT page still directs all ride calls to VPTA. DVHA posts the contract and every amendment on its contracts page, so check there for the current term.

VPTA’s overview for the Vermont House Health Care Committee (February 4, 2025) says its members have held DVHA contracts for these rides since the program began in 1986. In state fiscal year 2024, Vermont’s demand response programs gave 312,575 Medicaid rides at a cost of $15,301,847, about $48.95 a ride. That figure comes from a VTrans and VPTA presentation to the Senate Transportation Committee on April 2, 2025, which also said 38 percent of NEMT trips were for opioid treatment and 16 percent for adult day programs.

VPTA’s contract with DVHA (January 2021) sets performance standards for the whole network:

Standard	Target
Trips requested at least two business days ahead are provided	95% of the time
Members arrive on time for appointments	95% of the time
Pickups, including returns, fall inside the manual’s on-time window	95% of the time
Weekday calls from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. reach a live person within 3 minutes	95% of the time
Abandoned calls	Under 5%

The regional providers and their areas

VPTA says its membership includes all eight public transportation providers in Vermont. As of September 2026, its area provider lookup marks six of them as Medicaid providers. Members book with the provider for their town, and that provider is the one a private company would work under.

Provider	Area	Phone for Medicaid rides
Special Services Transportation Agency (SSTA)	Chittenden County	802-878-1527
Rural Community Transportation (RCT)	Caledonia, Essex, Orleans, Lamoille, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties, with offices in Lyndonville, Newport, Morrisville, and St. Albans	802-748-8170 or 855-811-6360
Marble Valley Regional Transit District (MVRTD)	Rutland County	800-339-3191
Tri-Valley Transit (TVT)	Addison County; Orange and northern Windsor counties; Washington County	802-388-2287; 802-728-3773; 802-223-7287
Green Mountain Community Network (GMCN)	Bennington County	802-447-0477 or 877-530-6116
The MOOver (Southeast Vermont Transit)	Windham and southern Windsor counties, including the Deerfield Valley	888-869-6287 or 802-460-7433

Green Mountain Transit and Advance Transit are also VPTA members, but the lookup does not mark them as Medicaid providers. VPTA notes updated Grand Isle area services from January 1, 2026, and its lookup now lists those towns under RCT. Search the lookup by town or ZIP code for your garage and each town you want to serve.

Which Medicaid rides are covered

DVHA’s manual (July 28, 2025) lets Vermont Medicaid pay for a ride only when all of these are true:

1. The rider is enrolled. The member has Vermont Medicaid, including Dr. Dynasaur, on the day of the appointment.
2. The service is covered. The ride goes to a Medicaid-covered service from a Medicaid-enrolled provider, or to pick up covered prescriptions or equipment.
3. There is no other way to get there. The provider checks the household’s DMV records before the first ride. VPTA says this can take up to 48 hours and repeats every year and at random.
4. It is the nearest qualified provider. That means a Medicaid-enrolled provider within 30 miles of home, or the nearest one with the specialty the member needs. A farther provider needs a Physician Referral Form showing a reason, such as special care the member needs.
5. The trip is approved in advance. The NEMT contractor approves trips under 100 miles one way. DVHA approves trips of 100 or more miles through the Physician Referral Form.
6. It is the least costly mode that fits. The manual lists a free bus, a volunteer driver, a taxi, a demand response public transit vehicle, a bus fare, a personal vehicle through the Hardship Mileage Program, and commercial air.

Members who live within three quarters of a mile of a bus route must take the bus unless their doctor signs a Public Transportation Medical Exemption. A household with a car can still qualify if the car is inoperable, unregistered, or uninsured, no one in the household is licensed or medically able to drive, or the car is used for work during appointment hours. The member files DVHA’s Vehicle Exception Request or Transportation Employment Exception Verification form. See prior authorization for how approvals work.

Where private companies fit

VPTA’s contract says it subcontracts with a network of public transportation providers, and the records rules show where private companies come in. Each provider must keep a list of the taxi companies it uses, any other companies it subcontracts, and the drivers of each, with proof that every driver passed background checks. Every taxi or subcontractor invoice must carry the driver’s name and signature, or the provider must have a driver attestation form on file. Up the chain, VPTA must re-register its subcontractors every year and confirm they carry proper insurance and have passed every background check.

DVHA’s manual lets the NEMT contractor pay its subcontractors and volunteers by any method that follows tax and employment law. So your rate, invoice schedule, and no-show terms come from your agreement with the regional provider, not from a state fee schedule. VPTA itself cannot sign a subcontract with any third party unless DVHA approves it first, through the state’s Subcontractor Compliance Form.

How to approach a regional provider

1. Find the provider for your towns. Use VPTA’s area provider lookup.
2. Ask what it needs. Ask whether it uses taxi or other subcontracted companies, and for which towns, hours, and trip types. After-hours rides are limited to hospital discharges, and every area must have a way to cover them.
3. Screen your people first. Run every check in the background check section below on each driver and office worker.
4. Write a drug and alcohol policy. The manual requires the NEMT contractor, a term it uses for DVHA’s contractor and its subcontractors, to have a drug-free workplace statement and a testing program that follows 49 CFR parts 40 and 655.
5. Get insurance and ask for the limits. Ask the regional provider which coverage and limits it requires of you. See NEMT insurance requirements.
6. Set up trip manifests. Use the fields in the trip rules section below.
7. Get the terms in writing. Confirm the rate per trip or mile, how often you invoice, and how no-shows are handled.

If you already run a taxi company, see how to add NEMT to a taxi business. For subcontract terms to check, see subcontracting NEMT trips.

Where volunteer drivers fit

Volunteers give many of Vermont’s Medicaid rides. Tri-Valley Transit says its Medicaid rides are typically given by TVT volunteer drivers or a qualifying family member, with a TVT bus used for wheelchair users when needed. The April 2025 legislative presentation lists the modes call centers match rides to, starting with a bus route whenever possible, then a volunteer driver, an agency van, or a taxi.

DVHA’s manual sets these volunteer rules:

• The NEMT contractor arranges the trip. Rides a member sets up directly with a volunteer are not paid.
• The volunteer passes every background check and drives their own vehicle.
• The volunteer does not live with the member, or lives there but is not related.
• A volunteer cannot be paid for driving a car owned by the member or the member’s family. Those trips go through Hardship Mileage instead.
• Foster parents of children in DCF custody and court-appointed guardians count as volunteers.

SSTA and RCT both pay volunteer community drivers at the current federal GSA mileage rate. GSA set that rate at $0.76 per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026. SSTA asks for a valid driver’s license for the last 5 years, a reliable vehicle with proper insurance, and the ability to pass background checks.

Two other programs pay people who are not volunteers:

Program	Who is paid	Rules
Hardship Mileage	The member, a parent driving a child under 18, or a household member using the household car	The household must drive over 50 miles a week or 215 miles a month to covered care. Trips are arranged ahead, and the Trip Manifest is due within 30 days.
Personal Choice Driver	A driver the member is allowed to choose	DVHA must allow it. VPTA pays the driver at a rate DVHA sets, and the driver signs a waiver saying they are not VPTA’s employee or agent.

See Medicaid mileage reimbursement for how these programs work in other states.

What drivers and staff must pass

These checks apply to VPTA’s employees and to every volunteer driver, taxi company employee, and other subcontractor worker, in the office or behind the wheel. Each must clear them before hire and again every year, unless the table says otherwise.

Check	What clears it
National Criminal Information Center and Vermont Criminal Information Center	No conviction for an offense involving bodily injury, abuse of a vulnerable person, a felony drug offense, or a money crime involving a position of trust, such as assault, domestic assault, embezzlement, or sexual assault. No fingerprints are required.
Child Abuse Registry and Adult Abuse Registry	No substantiated finding of abuse, neglect, or exploitation
DMV	A valid license, vehicle registration, current insurance, and at least two years of continuous driving experience in the United States. A driver must report a suspension or revocation notice by the end of the next business day.
OIG exclusion list, SAM, and the SSA Death Master File	Clear at hire, then checked every month
Drug and alcohol testing	A drug-free workplace policy and a testing program under 49 CFR parts 40 and 655

DVHA will not pay for a trip arranged or given by someone without clear checks. The contractor must tell DVHA within 25 days of finding a person who must be excluded, and keep proof of every check for audits. Minor traffic tickets, such as speeding, may be allowed depending on the situation. See NEMT driver requirements.

Trip rules and paperwork

DVHA’s manual sets the timing rules every provider and subcontractor works to.

Situation	Rule
Rider readiness	Ready to board within 5 minutes of the vehicle’s arrival
Early pickup	As early as 1 hour before a local appointment
Drop-off	Within 15 minutes of the appointment as standard practice, never more than 45 minutes early, and never more than 15 minutes before the office opens
Waiting after the visit	A member may be asked to wait up to 45 minutes after the scheduled end of the appointment
Will-call returns	Within 1 hour of the call, or by the facility’s close of business, whichever is earlier
Average wait	The monthly average wait stays at or under 15 minutes past the scheduled pickup
Delays	For a delay of 15 minutes or more, contact the waiting members with the new arrival time
Cancellations	24 hours’ notice is encouraged. A member who keeps canceling with less than 2 hours’ notice before pickup gets a no-show.
No-shows	A warning notice after the first. After the third, the member must confirm by noon on the business day before, or no driver is sent. A medical office’s late cancellation of the appointment does not count.

Each trip record must show the date and time of the request, the member’s name, address, and Medicaid number, eligibility, the health care provider’s name and address, the appointment date and time, the driver’s name and signature, odometer miles, actual pickup and drop-off times, when billing starts and stops, whether the request was approved, and whether the ride happened. Note anything unusual, such as a late driver, a detour, weather, or an accident. The NEMT trip log template has most of these fields.

Keep records for seven years, including your drivers’ records. Report any incident during a member’s ride to your provider right away, because the contractor must notify DVHA within 24 hours. DVHA audits the contractor’s and subcontractors’ locations every year. Report suspected fraud to DVHA’s Special Investigations Unit, suspected child abuse to the Child Protection Line at 1-800-649-5285, and suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult to Adult Protective Services at 1-800-564-1612.

How Vermont pays for these rides

Under contract 41132, DVHA pays VPTA a set amount per member per week (PMPW), based on the number of unduplicated riders served in a set period, not on each trip. Amendment 8 lists the rates, and the latest posted rate runs through June 30, 2026.

Period	PMPW rate
Calendar year 2021	$34.57
January 1, 2022 through the August 4, 2023 payment	$34.75
From the August 11, 2023 payment	$40.00
State fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025)	$45.80
State fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026)	$45.80, plus a possible adjustment of up to $0.86 (to $46.66) if opioid treatment trips per rider grew from 2023 to 2024

A temporary rate of $83.25 per member per week applied to payments in June 2026, capped at $800,000 and funded by Act 74 of 2026 (GCR 26-069). VPTA’s 2025 overview explains the strain: revenue follows the number of members, while average use has ranged from 33 to 50 trips a year, and riders taking 120 or more trips a year have grown over the past five years. For how per-member payment works, see capitation.

The proposed switch to fee for service

On June 30, 2026, the Agency of Human Services published GCR 26-057, proposing fee for service payment for NEMT effective July 1, 2026, at no expected change in total cost. Comments closed July 30, 2026, and as of September 2026 the Global Commitment Register still lists it as proposed.

Code	Service	Proposed price per unit
A0080	Volunteer driver with no vested interest, per mile	$2.11
A0090	Driver with a vested interest (family member, self, neighbor), per mile	$0.66
A0100	Taxi	$30.75
A0120	Mini-bus, mountain area, or other transportation system	$77.98
A0130	Wheelchair van	$77.98
A0140, A0170 to A0210	Air travel, parking and tolls, lodging, and meals	Paid as billed at actual cost, with supporting documents kept

These are what Medicaid would pay on the claim. What a subcontractor earns still depends on its agreement with the regional provider. For the codes themselves, see NEMT billing codes.

Who to call

For	Contact
VPTA Medicaid transportation line	833-387-7200 (toll-free) or 802-442-0629, info@vptaride.org
VPTA office	160 Benmont Avenue, Suite 11, Bennington, VT 05201. Fax 802-500-6844. Signed NEMT forms and attendant letters go to fax 802-442-0617.
Subcontract work	The regional provider for your towns, from the table above
DVHA	802-879-5900
DVHA, Physician Referral Forms for trips of 100 or more miles	Fax 802-879-5919
Green Mountain Care Member Services	1-800-250-8427
Comments on proposed Medicaid rate changes	AHS.MedicaidPolicy@vermont.gov

Before you call a regional provider, have your background check results, insurance quotes, vehicle list, and drug and alcohol policy ready. Know which towns and hours you can cover, because the provider books the least costly mode that fits each ride. For long rural trips, see rural NEMT, and for Vermont’s other rules, the Vermont state guide.