A0160 Billing Code: Caseworker and Social Worker Mileage, Who Bills It, and State Rates

What A0160 means

CMS lists A0160 in the national HCPCS code set as “Non-emergency transportation: per mile - case worker or social worker.” Its short name is “Noner transport case worker.” The October 2026 quarterly file shows the code was added on January 1, 1984. It carries coverage code I, which means Medicare does not pay it, and pricing indicator 00, which means Part B sets no price for it.

The description sets two things:

• The unit. One unit is one mile. There is no base charge for the trip.
• The driver. A case worker or social worker, usually driving a member as part of another service, such as case management, counseling, or a home visit.

A0160 is one of three HCPCS codes that pay mileage according to who drives:

Code	Who drives
A0080	A volunteer, individual or organization, with no vested interest in the rider
A0090	A family member, a neighbor, or the rider, with a vested interest
A0160	A case worker or social worker

The national code carries no modifier of its own. Each state or health plan adds the ones it wants, such as a rural modifier or origin and destination modifiers. For the codes a transportation company bills for its own rides, see NEMT billing codes.

Who bills A0160

A0160 pays the agency or licensed professional whose staff drove the member. It is not a transportation company code. Three state programs show how it is used.

Arizona: clinics, counselors, and care agencies

AHCCCS publishes a Behavioral Health Services Matrix, the B2 Matrix, that lists which provider types may bill each behavioral health service code. AHCCCS updates it monthly. The September 2026 edition opens A0160 to 19 provider types:

Group	Provider types allowed to bill A0160 (AHCCCS type number)
Clinics and health centers	Behavioral health outpatient clinics (77), integrated clinics (IC), clinics (05), community and rural health centers (29), federally qualified health centers (C2)
Hospitals	Hospitals (02), psychiatric hospitals (71)
Licensed professionals	Licensed clinical social workers (85), marriage and family therapists (86), professional counselors (87), independent addiction counselors (A4), board certified behavior analysts (BC)
Care and residential agencies	Home health agencies (23), adult day health (27), habilitation providers (39), community service agencies (A3), behavioral health residential facilities (B8), rural substance abuse transitional agencies (A6)
Ambulance	Emergency ground transportation (06)

Non-emergency transportation providers, AHCCCS provider type 28, are not on the A0160 list. The same matrix does list them for the lodging and meal codes, A0180 through A0210.

AHCCCS’s Covered Behavioral Health Services Guide, updated May 18, 2026, shows where the code fits. It says transportation provided to the member is not included in the case management rate and should be billed separately with the transportation codes. It defines transportation as moving a member from one place to another to receive, or benefit from, covered behavioral health services. The service can also carry the member’s family or caregiver, with or without the member, to carry out the service plan, such as for counseling or a case planning meeting.

Nevada: personal care agencies

Nevada Medicaid’s billing guide for provider types 30 and 83, personal care agencies and intermediary service organizations, was updated August 11, 2026. It tells them to “Use HCPCS code A0160 to bill for mileage,” with one mile as one unit. The mileage must be sent in advance to the local Nevada Medicaid District Office. The office may approve it case by case, and approved miles get an authorization number that goes on the claim. See the Nevada state guide.

New York: one county line

New York’s Medicaid transportation fee schedule, dated April 5, 2026, defines A0160 as “Case worker transportation” in the taxi, livery, and van category of service. It has one A0160 line: Schoharie County, modifier HB, $0.404, effective April 27, 2011. The schedule notes that its fees apply to the state’s fee-for-service transportation broker. See the New York state guide.

A0160 rates by state

Program	Status	Rate	Effective
Arizona AHCCCS fee-for-service	Paid	$0.44 a mile. Trips outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas bill the TN modifier at the same $0.44.	October 1, 2026
New York Medicaid	One county line	$0.404, Schoharie County, modifier HB	April 27, 2011, on the schedule dated April 5, 2026
Indiana Medicaid	Noncovered	None	Fee schedule updated June 9, 2026
North Dakota Medicaid	No A0160 line on the NEMT fee schedule	None	July 1, 2026

For comparison, the IRS standard mileage rate for business use is 72.5 cents from January 1 to June 30, 2026 and 76 cents from July 1 to December 31, 2026, under IR-2025-128 and IR-2026-29. Arizona’s A0160 rate is a little more than half of the current IRS rate.

Worked example. An Arizona case manager drives a member 18 miles to a psychiatric appointment and 18 miles home, 36 miles in all. A0160 pays 36 x $0.44 = $15.84. If the agency pays the worker back at the IRS rate of 76 cents, the same drive costs the agency $27.36.

Why NEMT companies rarely bill A0160

• The code names the driver. The description says case worker or social worker. A NEMT company’s drivers are neither, so the code does not describe the ride you gave.
• The payer lists who may bill it. Arizona’s matrix leaves NEMT providers off the A0160 list, and Indiana does not cover the code at all.
• The state pays the provider that did the work. Under 42 CFR 440.170(a)(2), Medicaid transportation is furnished only by a provider the state can pay directly, except under a broker program. When a caseworker drives, the enrolled provider is the caseworker’s agency.
• It pays far less. A0160 has no base rate. At Arizona’s urban fee-for-service rates as of October 1, 2026, a 20-mile wheelchair van trip pays $11.15 for A0130 plus 20 x $1.54 = $30.80 for the loaded miles on S0209, $41.95 in all. The same 20 miles under A0160 pay $8.80.

When a caseworker or clinic asks your company to take a member, the ride is yours to bill. Book it through the broker or state program that covers the member, and bill your own base and mileage codes. See NEMT mileage billing.

How an agency bills A0160 step by step

1. Confirm your provider type can bill it. In Arizona, check the B2 Matrix for the current month. In Nevada, the personal care billing guide names the code.
2. Get approval where the program requires it. Nevada personal care agencies send the mileage to the local district office before the drive.
3. Tie the drive to the member’s care. Arizona’s guide covers transportation that helps a member receive, or benefit from, covered behavioral health services and reach service plan goals.
4. Record every drive. Write down the date, the start and end addresses, the miles, and the service the drive supported.
5. Bill one unit per mile. Add the modifiers your payer requires, such as TN for rural Arizona trips.
6. Send it to Medicaid. Medicare does not pay A0160, so a member with both Medicare and Medicaid is billed to Medicaid or the Medicaid health plan.