What Is Protected Transport? Secure Rides for Riders in Crisis, Vehicles, and Pay

What protected transport means

Protected transport is a Medicaid ride for a person in a behavioral health crisis who could hurt themselves or someone else on the way. The rider cannot travel safely in a regular car or van, but does not need an ambulance or a police car. A company certified for this work carries them in a vehicle built to keep the rider, the crew, and the driver safe.

Minnesota law uses the name. Minnesota Statutes 256B.0625, subdivision 17, lists protected transport as one of seven NEMT modes. It is for a rider whose prescreening found other rides inappropriate. The provider must be certified as a protected transport provider and use a vehicle that is not an ambulance or police car and has safety locks, a video recorder, and a clear thermoplastic partition between the rider and the driver.

Other states run the same kind of ride under other names:

State	Its name	Who it serves	Who approves the provider
Minnesota	Protected transport	A rider whose level-of-service assessment ruled out other rides	MnDOT certifies the company and checks the vehicle
Oregon	Secured transport	Involuntary transport of a member in danger of harming themselves or others (OAR 410-141-3940)	The Oregon Health Authority’s Behavioral Health Division (OAR 309-033-0432)
Colorado	Secure transportation	Urgent rides for a person in a behavioral health crisis (6 CCR 1011-4)	The county, which licenses the company and permits each vehicle

If your state is not listed, search its Medicaid manual and rules for “protected,” “secure,” or “secured” transport. The behavioral health transportation guide compares more states.

Who qualifies for a protected ride

A professional or an official decides, not the transportation company.

• Minnesota. A mental health crisis team certifies the rider on form DHS-6715 (6-25), the protected transport level-of-service assessment. For a stabilized rider going less than 100 miles from a hospital to a facility, a licensed practitioner employed by the hospital can certify instead. Each certification covers a single date and a single trip or trip leg. The form goes to the state’s medical review agent within 48 hours, and the rider or their representative picks the provider from a list.
• Oregon. Secured transport is for a member in crisis or at immediate risk of harming themselves or others because of mental or emotional problems or substance abuse. The ride must go to a Medicaid-enrolled facility that can treat the crisis. The health plan or brokerage assumes a member going home is no longer in crisis, so a secured return trip needs a treating professional’s written reason.
• Colorado. A Health First Colorado member in a behavioral health crisis qualifies. An intervening professional, a crisis professional, an independent professional person, a certified peace officer, or an EMS provider can establish the crisis, and no prior authorization is required (10 CCR 2505-10, section 8.019, version effective July 10, 2026).

Minnesota’s form shows how an assessor thinks. It rates the risk of harm to self, harm to others, and harm by others, and asks whether police or an ambulance would be more appropriate, whether the rider agrees to go, and whether any medical issue rules the ride out.

What the vehicle needs

State	Vehicle rules
Minnesota	Safety locks, a video recorder, and a clear thermoplastic partition, and never an ambulance or police car. MnDOT checks that they work at each inspection (Minnesota Statutes 174.30, subdivision 3) and certifies the company only after they do (Minnesota Rules 8840.5400).
Oregon	A secured rear seat separated from the driver, a safety shield that prevents contact with the driver, plexiglass or guards on windows in the secured area, no inside locks or door handles there, a washable, non-breakable secured area with nothing a rider could use to cause harm, wrist and ankle restraints for violent behavior, a working phone, flashlight, and first aid kit, and an ambulance license for rides to a psychiatric emergency services facility (OAR 309-033-0432)
Colorado	Four doors, child and window safety locks, GPS tracking, ligature risk reduction, and a way to watch the rider. A Type 1 vehicle has a permanent partition behind the driver, and a Type 2 vehicle has none. Services licensed to restrain riders also carry an AED, soft non-metal restraints, and a spit or bite guard that does not block breathing (6 CCR 1011-4, part 3).

Crew and training

State	Crew	Training
Minnesota	A driver and an attendant, except when the rider was stabilized in an emergency department right before the ride and the whole trip is under 100 miles	At least six hours for drivers and attendants: Crisis Intervention Team training, Mental Health First Aid, or other formal de-escalation training. Crisis team members with their 40 hours of annual training already qualify.
Oregon	The rules set no crew size. One additional attendant, such as a parent or guardian, may ride with the member at no extra charge when medically appropriate.	Four hours a year in supportive interaction, redirection, de-escalation, managing aggressive behavior, and proper restraint, plus current first aid and CPR, and a criminal records check on every employee who transports riders
Colorado	In a Type 1 vehicle, one trained staff member per rider, who may also drive. In a Type 2 vehicle, two staff for one rider, and one per rider plus the driver for more.	Orientation and yearly training in verbal de-escalation, trauma-informed care, client rights, Mental Health First Aid, first aid and CPR, and restraint for Class A services

Restraint is the sharpest line. Oregon allows mechanical restraint only in an emergency to prevent immediate, serious harm, and requires staff to check circulation and document it (OAR 309-033-0437). Colorado issues two license classes: Class A services may use physical restraint under its rules, and Class B services may not.

How protected transport is billed

Minnesota. For fee-for-service members, protected transport is a state-administered service, so you bill the Department of Human Services directly. For health plan members, follow the plan’s process. On the rate page revised July 1, 2026, the base is $75.00 a trip, billed as T2003 with modifier UA, and it “must include an attendant.” Mileage bills as S0215 UA at $2.54 per loaded mile since July 1, 2026, up from $2.40 on January 1 and $2.49 on April 1, 2026, as fuel adjusts the rate each quarter. The attendant is not paid separately, and DHS asks you to wait at least five days after the ride before billing. Riders from rural and super rural ZIP codes bring higher rates under the statute. A 2026 law (chapter 121, signed May 27, 2026) keeps these rates until the state’s new NEMT administrator starts. See the Minnesota guide.

Oregon. The Oregon Health Authority’s provider guide (December 22, 2025) lists secured transport with specialty care transports under code A0434. Health plans may pay for a secured ride to or from a court or commitment hearing when no other funding exists, but fee-for-service brokerages may not (OAR 410-141-3940 and 410-136-3120). See the Oregon guide.

Colorado. Since July 1, 2025, secure transportation has been part of the monthly payment to Colorado’s Regional Accountable Entities, so you contract with those regional health plans to be paid. See the Colorado guide.

The UA modifier on Minnesota’s codes means “Medicaid level of care 10, as defined by each state” in the October 2026 HCPCS file. Each state gives its modifiers its own meaning, so never copy one state’s codes into another state’s claims.

How to add protected transport to your company

1. Confirm your state has the service. Read the state rule and ask the Medicaid agency or county behavioral health office how crisis rides run today.
2. Get the approval first. In Minnesota, get MnDOT’s certificate of compliance for protected transport, which it issues only after checking the locks, video recorder, and partition. In Oregon, apply to the Behavioral Health Division by letter, with letters from the county’s community mental health program director, and renew every two years. In Colorado, get a county license, good for three years, and a permit for each vehicle, renewed every year.
3. Build the vehicle to the state list before inspection, not after.
4. Train every driver and attendant to the state’s hours and topics, and keep the certificates.
5. Enroll or contract with the payer: Minnesota Health Care Programs and the health plans in Minnesota, the health plan or brokerage in Oregon, and the regional health plans in Colorado.
6. Write the policies the rules ask for, such as Oregon’s client rights, complaint records, and abuse reporting, and Colorado’s background check policy.

Colorado’s license also requires liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per claim and $3,000,000 for all claims, and a new owner must get a new license and vehicle permits before operating. For riders who become unsafe on an ordinary trip, see difficult NEMT passengers and level of service.