A0380 Billing Code: How Medi-Cal Bills Wheelchair and Litter Van Mileage

What A0380 means

CMS lists A0380 in the national HCPCS code set as “BLS mileage (per mile).” BLS is basic life support, the lower of the two ambulance care levels. The October 2026 quarterly file shows the code has been in the set since January 1, 1995, gives it coverage code I, not payable by Medicare, and cross-references it to A0425.

That cross-reference is the whole story for Medicare. It pays every level of ground ambulance mileage on A0425, “Ground mileage, per statute mile,” so A0380 and its advanced life support twin, A0390, sit unused on Medicare claims.

State Medicaid programs choose their own codes, so A0380 still turns up on some fee schedules, where it can keep its ambulance meaning. Montana’s ambulance fee schedule dated July 1, 2026 lists A0380, basic life support mileage, at $4.47 a mile with prior authorization, the same rate as its A0425 line. California uses it differently, and that matters to van companies.

How Medi-Cal uses A0380 for van mileage

Medi-Cal fee-for-service splits ground mileage by vehicle, not by care level. Its ground transportation manual (page updated August 2020) says to bill wheelchair van and litter van mileage on A0380, for non-emergency services only, and ambulance mileage on A0425, for emergency and non-emergency trips. A litter van is Medi-Cal’s name for a stretcher van, for a rider who must lie down for the trip but is stable and does not need an ambulance.

Each kind of ride pairs a base code with its own mileage code. The amounts are maximums: Medi-Cal pays your usual charge to the general public when that is lower.

Ride	Base code	Mileage code and maximum
Wheelchair van	A0130, $20.30	A0380, $1.50 a mile
Litter van	T2005, $26.29	A0380, $1.50 a mile
Non-medical transportation (ambulatory)	A0120, $17.65	A0390, $1.30 a mile
BLS non-emergency ambulance	A0428, $107.16	A0425, $3.55 a mile

The wheelchair and litter van amounts come from the codes page updated September 2023, and the other rows from pages updated August 2020. California’s state plan amendment 22-0039, approved by CMS on December 16, 2022, set the $20.30 wheelchair van rate and the $1.50 mileage rate “for wheelchair and litter van transports only” for dates of service on or after July 1, 2022.

Wheelchair van and litter van trips need a treatment authorization request (TAR), and the modifiers on the TAR and the claim must match for the claim to pay. You can put up to four modifiers on a line, but never modifier 99. The one exception to the TAR rule is a transfer from an acute care hospital to a nursing facility at level A or B: bill A0380 with modifiers HN and QN, at the same $1.50, with no TAR (codes page updated March 2024).

For how wheelchair and ambulatory rides differ in Medi-Cal, see NEMT vs NMT. For the state’s other rules, see the California guide.

How to bill A0380 on a Medi-Cal claim

The manual sets these rules for the mileage line:

• Units. Put the total miles from pickup to destination in box 24G, plus the return miles when you bill a round trip.
• Addresses. Put the full pickup and drop-off addresses, with city and ZIP code, in box 19.
• Proof of miles. The manual page updated June 2023 lets you use vehicle GPS tracking or digital mapping software in place of odometer readings at each pickup and drop-off.
• Shared rides. When riders board at one pickup point and go to one destination, each rider gets a claim with the base code and UN (two riders) through US (six or more), but only the first rider’s claim carries A0380. Every claim needs an attachment with the other riders’ names and Medi-Cal ID numbers. The rule does not apply to riders with different pickup points or destinations.
• Dry runs. A dry run and mileage do not pay for the same day, rider, and provider unless your records show the miles were for a real transport at another time that day.
• Repeat trips. For a second trip the same day, add the times and destinations in box 19. Modifier 76 may be added, or the second trip can deny as a duplicate.

Example. A wheelchair van takes two dialysis patients from the same senior housing building to the same dialysis center, 9 loaded miles, with a TAR for each. These are Medi-Cal maximums, and the trip is an example.

Claim	Lines	Amount
First rider	A0130 UN at $16.22, plus A0380 for 9 miles at $1.50	$29.72
Second rider	A0130 UN at $16.22, no mileage line	$16.22
Both riders	One van, one set of miles	$45.94

Billed as two solo trips, the same riders would come to $67.60 at the maximums, but you would need two runs or two vans. See NEMT multiloading for planning shared rides, and loaded miles for what counts as a billable mile.

A0380 at Medi-Cal health plans

Medi-Cal managed care plans arrange rides for their members under DHCS All Plan Letter 22-008 (May 18, 2022). That letter makes NEMT subject to prior authorization with an approved physician certification statement (PCS) form, and it requires NEMT providers to enroll in Medi-Cal. It does not set codes or rates. Each plan’s billing guide and your contract do.

Two plans that publish their rules both use A0380 for van miles:

• IEHP. Its transportation billing guideline, posted May 1, 2024, lists A0380 as the mileage code for wheelchair, gurney, and bariatric gurney trips. Door-to-door NEMT trips use T2001 for the pickup and A0425 for the miles. The guideline says contract terms decide what you are paid. See the IEHP page.
• Health Plan of San Joaquin and Mountain Valley Health Plan. Their alert dated June 26, 2024 says to bill litter van and wheelchair van miles on A0380 and ambulance miles on A0425, with total miles in box 24G, full addresses in box 19, and the authorization number in box 23.

If your plan or broker sends its own code list, follow it, even where it differs from fee-for-service.

Mistakes that get A0380 lines denied

• The wrong mileage code. A0425 on a Medi-Cal wheelchair van line, or S0209 or T2049, which other states use for van miles.
• Modifiers that differ from the TAR. Medi-Cal pays only when they match.
• Mileage on every rider’s claim. Only the first rider of a shared ride gets A0380.
• Missing addresses. Box 19 needs both full addresses, with city and ZIP code.
• Emergency and non-emergency codes on one claim. Medi-Cal denies the whole claim.

For how to measure and document miles in any state, see NEMT mileage billing.