A0210 Billing Code: Meals for an Escort, Meal-Time Rules, and State Rates

What A0210 means

CMS lists A0210 in the national HCPCS code set as “Non-emergency transportation: ancillary: meals-escort.” The October 2026 quarterly file shows it was added on January 1, 1984. It carries coverage code I, which means Medicare does not pay it, and the file sets no national rate, unit, or modifier.

A0210 pays for the food of the person who travels with a Medicaid rider, such as a parent with a child or an adult who helps a rider through a long trip. In the national code set it does not cover the ride, the escort’s time, or the escort’s room.

The federal basis is 42 CFR 440.170(a)(3). Medicaid travel expenses include meals and lodging on the way to and from medical care and while receiving it, plus “the cost of an attendant to accompany the beneficiary, if necessary, and the cost of the attendant’s transportation, meals, lodging.” CMS’s transportation guide (SMD 23-006, September 28, 2023) says these related travel expenses must be covered when they are needed to reach covered care.

How A0210 pairs with the escort code

An escort’s costs go on separate lines, one code for each kind of cost:

Escort’s cost	Code	Example
The escort’s fee or time	T2001	North Carolina pays county staff attendants on T2001
The escort’s room	A0200	Oregon’s notice for November 1, 2023 set up to $98 a night
The escort’s meals	A0210	Oregon’s notice for November 1, 2023 set $27 a day
The rider’s meals	A0190	Oregon’s notice for November 1, 2023 set $27 a day

The escort has to qualify before any of these lines pays. Oregon’s rule OAR 410-136-3240, effective January 1, 2025, pays meals or lodging for one attendant, who may be a parent, when the rider is a minor who cannot travel alone, a doctor signs a statement, or the rider cannot reach the appointment or get home without help. The same rule says the brokerage never pays for the attendant’s time or services.

Some programs pay the escort’s time as well. North Carolina’s county-run program (MA-2910, revised March 16, 2026) lets attendants other than family members charge for their time, reports attendant pay on A0170, and reports county staff attendant pay on T2001. Attendant meals go on A0210. For more on companions, see can a caregiver ride with NEMT.

Which states pay A0210 and how much

Program	How A0210 is paid	Rate or limit	Effective
Oregon Health Plan	Attendant meals, paid back to the rider by the ride brokerage	The state’s allowable rate, set at $27 a day from November 1, 2023	Notice dated October 24, 2023
Arizona AHCCCS fee-for-service	Escort meals billed by travel services providers, prior authorization required	Up to 3 units a day	Training dated July 2023
North Carolina Medicaid (county-run)	Attendant meals, reported by the county agency	Up to $10.60 breakfast, $14.00 lunch, and $24.40 dinner in state ($27.70 out of state)	MA-2910 revised March 16, 2026
Louisiana Medicaid	Meals for an escort	No more than the GSA per diem rate for the location	Rate dated October 1, 2015, on the schedule effective October 1, 2025
North Dakota Medicaid	Listed as A0210, but the 2025 schedule describes it as an attendant at $8.67 an hour	$8.84	July 1, 2026
South Dakota Medicaid	No A0210 line. A medically necessary escort is an add-on to the rider’s overnight rate, paid only when care is at least 150 miles from home.	$40.00 a day, except when the rider is an inpatient	Rates effective August 1 and November 1, 2024, on the July 1, 2026 schedule

The Oregon Health Authority said in its 2023 notice that it reviews the rate every year, so ask your brokerage for the current figure. Some brokerages pay by the meal. Ride Line, an Oregon ride brokerage run by the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, lists $9.00 for breakfast, $10.00 for lunch, and $15.00 for dinner in its January 2026 guide.

Louisiana’s cap follows the federal per diem rates of the U.S. General Services Administration. From October 1, 2026, the standard daily rate for meals and incidental expenses, for places without their own GSA rate, is $68: $16 for breakfast, $19 for lunch, $28 for dinner, and $5 for incidentals. On the first and last day of travel, the GSA rate is 75 percent, $51.00.

When an escort’s meals are paid

Most programs tie meals to the clock and to an overnight stay. These rules were in force as of September 2026.

• Oregon (OAR 410-136-3240): the trip must take at least four hours round trip out of the rider’s local area. Breakfast is paid when travel starts before 6 a.m., lunch when travel spans all of 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and dinner when travel ends after 6:30 p.m. Meals a hospital or other facility provides are not paid.
• North Carolina (MA-2910): breakfast is paid when the rider must leave before 6 a.m., lunch only on overnight stays, and dinner when the rider returns after 8 p.m.
• North Dakota (manual updated January 2026): meals are paid only when care or travel requires an overnight stay, and only to enrolled meal providers, never to the member. One parent may be covered with a child under 18.
• Alaska (7 AAC 120.425): food is covered only when the enrolled lodging provider provides it, up to the state’s maximum daily rate. Alcohol, tips, and meals for a relative or guest who is not the authorized escort are never paid.
• Inpatient stays: once the rider is admitted, Oregon pays the attendant’s meals and lodging for the trip home, and pays a nearby stay only if it costs less. South Dakota’s $40.00 escort add-on stops while the rider is an inpatient.

A0210 on a North Carolina overnight trip

North Carolina’s county program shows how the meal rules add up. A rider and an attendant leave home at 5:30 a.m. on Monday for care in another county, stay overnight, and get home at 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday. At the in-state limits in MA-2910, revised March 16, 2026:

Meal	Allowed because	A0210 limit for the attendant
Monday breakfast	They left before 6 a.m.	$10.60
Monday lunch	It is an overnight stay	$14.00
Monday dinner	They were away past 8 p.m.	$24.40
Tuesday breakfast	Overnight stay	$10.60
Tuesday lunch	Overnight stay	$14.00
Tuesday dinner	They returned after 8 p.m.	$24.40
Total		Up to $98.00

The attendant’s room goes on A0200, at actual cost up to $94.10 a night in state. The rider’s own meals go on A0190. In this program the county agency reports these costs to the state on the DHB-2055, so a ride company does not bill them on its trip claim.

How to handle A0210 as a ride company

1. Ask who pays for meals. In North Dakota only enrolled meal providers are paid, in Arizona travel services providers bill, and in Oregon the brokerage reimburses the rider. Your ride claim usually carries none of it.
2. Get the escort approved first. Arizona requires prior authorization for A0210, and Alaska approves every escort before travel. See NEMT prior authorization.
3. Record the times. Meal rules turn on departure and return times, so the pickup and drop-off times on your trip log matter. Use a trip log template.
4. Keep the escort’s name on the record. Indiana’s transportation module asks for the name, signature, and relationship of an adult or attendant who rides along, and the same details answer any question about the escort’s meals.

For long trips, see rural NEMT and NEMT billing codes.