What Is a Pickup Window in NEMT? On-Time Rules by Broker and State

What a pickup window means

A pickup window is the stretch of time around a scheduled pickup when your arrival counts as on time. The broker sets the pickup time on the trip. The window is drawn around that time, not around the moment your van pulls up.

Here is how MTM Health’s Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026) works for a trip with a 9:00 a.m. pickup:

Driver arrives	Counts as	What happens
8:40	Early, outside the window	The rider does not have to come out until 9:00
8:50	On time	The rider still does not have to board before 9:00
9:10	On time	The normal pickup
9:20	Late	Counts against your on-time rate

Two rules appear in most of the manuals below. The rider never has to board before the scheduled time. And the no-show clock starts at the scheduled time, even when the driver comes early. Georgia’s manual (version July 1, 2026) says so directly: if the provider arrives early, the 10-minute wait starts at the scheduled pickup time.

Pickup windows by broker and state

Your broker agreement is the rule you follow. These are the published windows as of September 2026.

Program	When a pickup is on time	Wait and early boarding
MTM Health, Virginia (approved August 10, 2026)	15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup, on the first leg only	Not ready inside the window: follow MTM’s no-show steps and try the member by phone or text. No boarding before the scheduled time.
MAS, New York (manual October 1, 2023)	At the scheduled time or up to 15 minutes before or after. Later is a late pickup.	No boarding before the scheduled time unless the rider and driver both agree. Waiting less than 15 minutes can lead to suspension.
Modivcare SoonerRide, Oklahoma	15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the pickup time	The driver waits up to 15 minutes from the pickup time. Members are told to be ready 15 minutes early.
Pennsylvania MATP paratransit (DHS study, June 25, 2026)	15 minutes before and after the scheduled departure, 30 minutes in all	No drop-off or pickup more than an hour before or after the appointment
MTM Health, Rhode Island (updated July 1, 2026)	A change of more than 15 minutes from the stated time is not timely	The driver need not wait more than 10 minutes, and texts or calls before leaving. No boarding before the scheduled time.
Georgia Medicaid (manual July 1, 2026)	A change of more than 15 minutes from the stated pickup time is not timely	The driver need not wait more than 10 minutes. No boarding before the scheduled time.
CareOregon (manual version 1.3, February 2024)	No pickup before the scheduled time or window, unless the member chooses	Wait at least 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup, then tell dispatch before leaving
MediTrans, Louisiana health plans (September 2026)	Plan the route to arrive within the pickup window on the trip	Wait 15 minutes at a home and 20 minutes at a facility, then call the member and dispatch
Texas Medicaid health plans (HHSC Chapter 16.4, August 1, 2021)	Scored by arrival at the appointment instead (see below)	Wait at least 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup time before a no-show
Vermont Medicaid (manual July 28, 2025)	The monthly average wait for pickups may not exceed 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time	Members must be ready within 5 minutes of the ride’s arrival

ADA paratransit works on a different scale. Under 49 CFR 37.131, a transit agency may move a rider’s pickup by up to one hour before or after the time they asked for when it books the ride. See paratransit vs NEMT.

Drop-off and return windows

A pickup window covers the pickup. Most programs add separate rules for arrival at the appointment and for the ride home.

Program	Arrival at the appointment	Return pickup
MTM Health, Virginia	No later than the appointment time	Will-call within 45 minutes of the call. Hospital discharge within 3 hours.
Texas Medicaid health plans (HHSC Chapter 16.4, August 1, 2021)	At least 15 minutes and no more than 1 hour early, unless the member asks. Never more than 15 minutes before the office opens.	Within 1 hour of the request. Hospital discharges allow up to 3 hours.
Louisiana Medicaid (Chapter 10, July 14, 2025)	At least 15 minutes and no more than 2 hours early. If the office is closed, the driver stays with the rider until it opens.	No more than 2 hours after the appointment ends or after the will-call request, within the office’s business hours
Vermont Medicaid (July 28, 2025)	Within 15 minutes of the appointment time as a standard, never more than 45 minutes early	Will-call within 1 hour of the call, or by the time the office closes if that is earlier
MTM Health, Rhode Island	On time to the appointment	Will-call within 45 minutes of the call
Georgia Medicaid	On time to the appointment	Within 1 hour of the call
MAS, New York	Before the appointment time, and not more than 60 minutes early	Within 1 hour of the ready call, for trips with no set return time. Hospital discharges within 3 hours.

These rules decide when your pickup has to be. Vermont lets its contractor ask members to be picked up as early as one hour before a local appointment, so rides can be shared. Texas limits a shared ride to one hour more than the rider’s direct trip, Georgia to 45 minutes more, and Louisiana to one hour beyond the estimated travel time. For how returns work, see will-call trip and hospital discharge transportation.

How the pickup window drives your on-time score

Brokers score every arrival against the window.

• MTM Health, Virginia. On-time performance must be above 95 percent. A field monitor reviews your numbers, and missing them can bring a performance improvement plan, liquidated damages, or removal from the network. The other side is a quarterly incentive: providers at 95 percent or higher share a pool funded by the liquidated damages MTM collects, with bigger shares for higher scores and more trips.
• Texas Medicaid health plans. 95 percent of trips must get the member to the appointment 15 minutes to 1 hour early, and 95 percent of return pickups must come within 1 hour of the request.
• MTM Health, Rhode Island. Its scorecard grades timeliness on the same lower-is-better percentage scale as vendor no-shows and turnbacks: under 4.99 percent is green, 5 to 6.99 percent yellow, and 7 percent or more red.

The broker sees the times your tracking records. MTM Health’s Virginia handbook requires vehicle location tracking active for the whole ride on every trip, to capture arrivals, pickups, and drop-offs. MediTrans in Louisiana has drivers mark “En Route” and “Arrived” in its portal. An arrival tapped late, or a phone with tracking off, can turn an on-time pickup into a late one.

Small numbers matter. At 300 pickups a month, Virginia’s above-95-percent standard allows no more than 14 late pickups, about one every other day. The on-time performance guide covers how to track and raise your rate, and NEMT broker scorecards covers how brokers grade it.

How to plan pickups inside the window

A van can be inside the pickup window and still deliver the rider late. Take a Virginia trip with a 10:00 a.m. appointment and a 9:15 a.m. pickup. The window runs from 9:00 to 9:30, and the drive takes 30 minutes. A driver who arrives at 9:30 is on time for the pickup. After a few minutes to board, the rider reaches the clinic after 10:00, which is late for the appointment.

Plan each pickup this way:

1. Put each broker’s window on the trip. Keep one sheet at the dispatch desk with every broker’s pickup window, wait time, and return rule.
2. Aim for the start of the window. An arrival at 9:00 leaves room for traffic and boarding. The rider still does not have to come out early.
3. Check the drop-off rule. Work back from the appointment time, adding check-in time, boarding time, and every other stop on a shared ride.
4. Call before the window closes. MediTrans tells drivers to call dispatch before they miss the pickup window, and treats dialysis, chemotherapy, and surgery trips as critical trips that must not be late. Vermont requires its contractor to tell waiting members of any delay of 15 minutes or more, with a new arrival time. See dialysis transportation for chair times that cannot slip.
5. Record the arrival when it happens. Mark “Arrived” at the curb, not after the rider boards.

A late pickup is not the same as a no-show or a missed trip. If the rider is not there when your on-time driver has waited the full time, follow the no-show steps. The window matters here too: Vermont’s manual counts a member no-show only when the vehicle arrived within the pickup window. If your van never arrives, it is a missed trip, and a rider who cancels after the notice deadline but before you arrive is a late cancellation.