# T2007 Billing Code: NEMT Waiting Time in Half-Hour Units, Rules, and State Rates

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/glossary/t2007/ · Updated 2026-09-28

T2007 is the HCPCS code for transportation waiting time: one unit for each 30 minutes a driver waits to take a rider home. Medicare does not pay it, and many Medicaid programs do not either. Where it is paid, rules differ: Arizona pays $4.59 a unit from October 1, 2026, Indiana $7.43 since January 1, 2026, and Medi-Cal $11.30, capped at three units.

- T2007 pays waiting time in 30-minute units, and Medicare does not pay it.
- Federal guidance lets states pay wait time only in limited cases, and some programs, such as Illinois, pay none.
- Arizona pays $4.59 a unit (October 1, 2026), Indiana $7.43 (January 1, 2026), and Medi-Cal $11.30.
- Each of these payers leaves the first stretch unpaid: waits under 30 minutes in Arizona, the first 30 minutes in Indiana, and the first 15 minutes in Medi-Cal.
- Write down the clock time the wait started and ended, and keep the van parked at the appointment.

## What T2007 means

CMS lists T2007 in the national HCPCS code set as "Transportation waiting time, air ambulance and non-emergency vehicle, one-half (1/2) hour increments." It has been in the code set since January 1, 2003. The October 2026 quarterly HCPCS file gives it coverage code I, which means Medicare does not pay it.

One unit is 30 minutes. T2007 is an add-on line: you bill the base code for the trip, the loaded miles, and then the wait. It covers time the driver spends waiting for the rider to finish a covered medical visit and come back to the vehicle. There is no national rate, so each Medicaid program, health plan, or broker decides whether it pays wait time at all. See [NEMT billing codes](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-billing-codes/) for the codes it goes with.

## When Medicaid can pay for waiting

CMS's Medicaid transportation guide (SMD 23-006, September 28, 2023) sets the federal limits. States generally may not cover long wait times as a separate service, because transportation is paid to move a rider, and the rider is not in the vehicle while the driver waits. A state has two other options:

- **Build waiting into its rates.** CMS says wait times are a real cost that rates should account for.
- **Pay it separately in limited cases.** Since September 28, 2023, a state may cover wait time when the distance and travel time make it cheaper for the driver to stay than to leave and return. The state must first file a state plan amendment with CMS.

That is why many programs pay no T2007 at all. Illinois lists charges for waiting time as not covered in its transportation handbook (March 11, 2024). North Carolina's county manual (MA-2910, revised March 16, 2026) says that if a county office agrees to pay a vendor for driver wait time, the vendor must invoice it separately from Medicaid reimbursable costs.

## What states pay for T2007

| Rule | Arizona fee-for-service | Indiana Medicaid | Medi-Cal fee-for-service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate per 30-minute unit | $4.59, urban or rural (October 1, 2026) | $7.43 with U3 (walk-on) or U5 (wheelchair) (January 1, 2026) | $11.30 (rate page updated September 2023) |
| Unpaid time | Waits under 30 minutes | The first 30 minutes of every wait | The first 15 minutes |
| Distance | Only when too far to return to base, and never on trips of 10 miles or less | Only when the member rides 50 miles or more one way | None stated |
| Where the driver waits | At the medical destination, with no change on the odometer | Parked outside the medical provider | Waiting to load the rider |
| Cap | None stated | None stated | 3 units, the 90 minutes after the first 15 |
| Shared rides | Paid for one member only | First member only | Not stated |
| Proof | The daily trip report | Start and stop times on the driver's ticket | Start and end clock times in box 19 or an attachment |

Arizona also does not allow wait time on one-way trips or when two vehicles or drivers split the round trip. It wants every trip for one member on one date on a single claim: base on line 1, loaded miles on line 2, and wait time on line 3. Any added lines deny.

Indiana's U modifiers mark the level of service: U3 for a walk-on (commercial ambulatory) ride and U5 for a wheelchair (nonambulatory) ride, so the wait carries the one that matches the ride. Medi-Cal pays T2007 on wheelchair van and litter van trips, and does not pay waiting time on a transfer from an acute care facility to a level A nursing facility.

## How states count billable wait

Indiana gives the clearest rounding rule. Bill one unit per 30 minutes. Round a partial half hour of 15 minutes or more up, and less than 15 minutes down. Report the whole wait, including the first 30 minutes, or Indiana cannot price the claim.

In Arizona and Indiana, a wait counts only when the vehicle stays at the appointment for the return trip, and Arizona also requires the same driver. Indiana's bulletin BT2025119 (August 19, 2025) says a trip where the driver stays and waits is a single trip, so never split its legs with the XE modifier. XE marks only additional trips on the same day, such as a second appointment. If the driver drops the rider off and leaves, there is no wait to bill: Indiana bills a plain round trip as one line with 2 units of the base code. See wait and return trips and [NEMT wait time billing](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-wait-time-billing/).

## Examples of T2007 on a claim

**Arizona, rural round trip.** A wheelchair van carries a member 40 miles from a town outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, waits 2 hours without moving, and drives the member home. At October 1, 2026 rates:

| Line | Code and modifier | Units | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A0130 TN | 2 trips | 2 x $12.21 = $24.42 |
| 2 | S0209 TN | 80 miles | 80 x $1.66 = $132.80 |
| 3 | T2007 TN | 4 half hours | 4 x $4.59 = $18.36 |
| Total | | | $175.58 |

**Indiana, long-distance ride.** A walk-on member rides 55 miles one way, and the driver parks outside and waits 2 hours. Report 4 units of T2007 U3 with the start and stop times. Indiana pays only the time past the first 30 minutes, so the wait is worth 3 x $7.43 = $22.29 at January 1, 2026 rates.

**Medi-Cal, wheelchair van.** The driver waits 1 hour 15 minutes to load the rider. The first 15 minutes are not billable, which leaves 60 minutes: 2 units x $11.30 = $22.60. Medi-Cal never pays more than 3 units, or $33.90, for one wait.

To see what unpaid waiting costs you in driver pay and lost trips, try the wait time cost calculator.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many units of T2007 do I bill?

One unit for each 30 minutes of waiting. Indiana rounds a partial half hour of 15 minutes or more up and under 15 minutes down, so 45 minutes is 2 units and 1 hour 10 minutes is 2 units. Medi-Cal pays at most 3 units, the 90 minutes after the first 15. Arizona says to bill only the time the driver actually waited.

### Does Medicare pay the T2007 billing code?

No. The October 2026 CMS HCPCS file gives T2007 coverage code I, which means not payable by Medicare. Wait time on a van or car trip is paid, where it is paid at all, by state Medicaid programs and the plans and brokers that work for them. Medi-Cal bills ground ambulance wait on A0420 and van wait on T2007.

### Can I bill wait time for two riders at the same clinic?

Usually for one rider only. Arizona pays wait time for no more than one member when several ride together. Indiana pays the base, mileage, and wait time for the first member only on a shared ride, and no wait time for the others. Check your payer's shared-ride rule before you bill.

### Can I bill T2007 if I leave and come back for the rider?

No. Arizona does not allow wait time if the odometer changes between drop-off and pickup, or if a different vehicle or driver makes the return. Indiana pays only when the van is parked outside the provider. If you leave and return, bill the round trip as two units of the base code and no wait time.

### Why do so few programs pay for wait time?

Federal guidance. CMS's transportation guide (SMD 23-006, September 28, 2023) says states generally may not cover long wait times as a separate service, because a rider must be in the vehicle. States may build waiting into their rates, or pay it separately in limited cases through a state plan amendment when waiting is cheaper than a second trip.

## Official resources

- [CMS: Medicaid Transportation Coverage Guide (SMD 23-006)](https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/smd23006.pdf)
- [AHCCCS: Ground transportation fee schedules](https://www.azahcccs.gov/PlansProviders/RatesAndBilling/FFS/transportationground.html)
- [Indiana Health Coverage Programs: Transportation Services module](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/modules/transportation-services.pdf)