Billing codes
T2001 Billing Code: Patient Attendant or Escort, Rates, and When Riders Go Free
T2001 is the HCPCS code for a patient attendant or escort: a person who rides with a Medicaid member who cannot travel safely alone. Medicare does not pay it. Where Medicaid pays, 2026 rates vary: Illinois pays $20.00 on service car and wheelchair van trips, Ohio $15.00 on wheelchair vans, and Indiana $6.36. Many programs let a parent or caregiver ride free and pay nothing extra.
- T2001 is an add-on line for a person who rides along to keep the rider safe, billed with the trip's base code.
- Medicare does not pay T2001, so each state, health plan, or broker decides whether it pays and how much.
- Published 2026 rates include $2.60 a one-way trip in South Dakota, $15.00 in Ohio, and $20.00 on Illinois wheelchair van trips, while New York pays nothing extra for an escort.
- A family member who rides along is often free: Louisiana and Georgia bar any charge, and Illinois calls extra passengers a courtesy.
- Record the attendant's name, relationship, and signature on the trip record, and keep proof of why the rider needed one.
What T2001 means
CMS lists T2001 in the national HCPCS code set as “Non-emergency transportation; patient attendant/escort.” It has been in the code set since April 1, 2002. The October 2026 quarterly HCPCS file gives it coverage code I, which means Medicare does not pay it.
T2001 is an add-on line. It pays for a second person on the trip, never for the ride itself. You bill the base code for the trip, and T2001 on its own line under the member’s Medicaid ID. There is no national rate or unit, so each Medicaid program, health plan, or broker sets its own. See NEMT billing codes for the codes it goes with.
The federal basis is 42 CFR 440.170(a)(3). Medicaid travel expenses include “the cost of an attendant to accompany the beneficiary, if necessary,” plus the attendant’s transportation, meals, and lodging, and a salary if the attendant is not family. CMS’s transportation guide (SMD 23-006, September 28, 2023) adds that a transportation attendant is not the same as a personal care aide. If the rider’s aide already travels with them, another transportation attendant is not needed.
Attendant or escort: who counts
Programs draw the line in different places.
- Georgia (NEMT policy, July 1, 2026): an escort is an adult who assists the member during the trip and stays with them at the appointment. An attendant is a staff person of the broker or provider who stays with the vehicle. The broker must arrange one attendant when one is needed for everyone’s safety.
- Illinois (handbook, March 11, 2024): an employee attendant is a person other than the driver who works for the transportation company. A non-employee attendant is a family member or other person who rides along when there is a medical need.
- Louisiana (Section 10.2, issued July 14, 2025): the broker decides when an attendant is needed. A member under 17 must have one, except for prenatal and postpartum care, and the attendant cannot work for the transportation provider.
In most programs, the driver’s own help is not an attendant. New York requires ambulette staff to help riders from their own front door, even an apartment door or nursing home room, to the practitioner’s door, at no extra charge. That is door-through-door help, and it is part of the ride.
What states pay for T2001
| Program | T2001 rate | Where it applies | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois Medicaid | $20.00, plus $20.00 for an additional attendant with TK. Taxi trips pay $0.46 for each. | Service car, medicar (wheelchair van), and taxi trips | January 1, 2026 |
| Ohio Medicaid | $15.00 | Wheelchair van attendant | January 1, 2024 (appendix enacted July 10, 2026) |
| Indiana Medicaid | $6.36 | Accompanying adult or attendant on a walk-on ride (base code T2003) | January 1, 2026 |
| Medi-Cal fee-for-service | $5.52 | Wheelchair van and litter van trips, and with HN and QN on a transfer from an acute care hospital to a level A or B nursing facility | Rate pages updated September 2023 and March 2024 |
| South Dakota Medicaid | $2.60, one unit per one-way trip | Community and secure medical transportation | July 1, 2026 |
| New York Medicaid | No separate payment | Ambulette escorts are provided at no extra charge | Policy manual effective August 25, 2023 |
Indiana bills an accompanying adult on a wheelchair van trip as A0130 with the TK modifier, not T2001. An extra employee who only helps load a rider, for example down stairs with no ramp, bills A0130 with U6, up to two units. Illinois lets a medicar bill both an employee and a non-employee attendant on one trip, while a service car or taxi is paid only for a non-employee attendant.
North Carolina uses the code differently. Under its county transportation manual (MA-2910, revised March 16, 2026), county social services offices report their own staff’s attendant pay on T2001 and other attendants’ pay on A0170. A non-family attendant who is not a medical professional is paid no more than the state minimum hourly wage, and time an attendant spends waiting after the member is admitted to a facility is not paid.
When a companion rides free
Many programs let a parent or caregiver ride along without any charge to anyone.
- Louisiana: the broker must bar providers from charging the member or anyone else for extra passengers, and does not pay claims for them.
- Georgia: the broker must allow one escort at no charge for members who live in a nursing home, are blind or deaf, have an intellectual disability, are under 18, or as the state decides.
- Illinois: extra passengers who are not attendants ride as a courtesy, and the provider may not charge for them.
- Indiana and South Dakota: if your company lets companions ride free for other customers, do not bill for a Medicaid rider’s companion either.
See can a caregiver ride with NEMT for more on companions.
How to bill and document T2001
- Confirm the need. The trip record or authorization should say an attendant or escort is coming. MTM Health’s Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026) puts this on the trip manifest.
- Get approval where required. Illinois reviews every attendant through its prior approval process.
- Record who rode. Indiana wants the attendant’s name, signature, and relationship to the member on the driver’s ticket. Arizona’s daily trip report asks for the escort’s name and relationship.
- Bill it with the base code. Put T2001 on the same claim as the trip’s base code, under the member’s ID, with the units your payer counts.
- Bill meals and lodging separately. An escort’s overnight costs go on A0200 for lodging and A0210 for meals. North Dakota pays $169.00 and $8.84 for those codes as of July 1, 2026.
Example, Illinois medicar trip in Cook County. A wheelchair van carries a member, a parent, and a company attendant for 10 loaded miles, with both attendants approved through prior approval. At January 1, 2026 rates, the claim bills A0130 at $30.00, T2001 at $20.00, T2001 TK at $20.00, and 10 miles on A0425 at $1.03, or $10.30. The claim totals $80.30.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an attendant and an escort?
Programs define them differently. Georgia's NEMT policy (July 1, 2026) calls an escort someone who stays with the member at the appointment, and an attendant a broker or provider staff person who stays with the vehicle. Illinois splits attendants into employees of the transportation company and non-employees, such as a family member. Use your payer's definition when you bill T2001.
Does Medicare pay the T2001 billing code?
No. The October 2026 CMS HCPCS file gives T2001 coverage code I, which means not payable by Medicare. Attendant and escort charges are paid by state Medicaid programs and the health plans and brokers that work for them, each under its own fee schedule or contract.
Can I charge for a parent who rides with a child?
Usually only through T2001, and only where your program pays it. Indiana requires an adult to ride with members under 16 and pays T2001 on walk-on rides. South Dakota covers an accompanying adult for members 20 or younger, or when one is medically necessary, one unit per one-way trip. Louisiana bars any charge for extra passengers, so check your program's rule before you ask a parent to pay anything.
Can I bill T2001 for my own driver helping the rider?
Usually not. The driver's help is part of the ride. New York requires ambulette staff to give door-to-door help at no extra charge and pays nothing separate for an escort. T2001 pays for a second person when the rider needs one: Illinois defines an employee attendant as a person other than the driver and pays one only on its wheelchair van trips, and Indiana pays an extra loading helper on A0130 with U6, not on T2001.
Does T2001 need prior approval?
In some programs. Illinois makes every attendant subject to prior approval, case by case. Ohio pays a wheelchair van attendant only when one is needed for safe transport and you keep documentation of that need. On broker trips, the trip record tells you whether an escort will ride along or you must supply an attendant.