# Indiana Medicaid Waiver Transportation in 2027: Certification, the Enrollment Freeze, and Level 1 and 2 Pay

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/guides/indiana-waiver-transportation-provider/ · Updated 2026-10-06

Indiana Medicaid waiver transportation is the nonmedical ride service in five home and community waivers, for trips to jobs, adult day, errands, and outings. Since August 1, 2026, a moratorium has blocked new providers for at least six months, apart from limited access exceptions. In PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI, Level 1 pays $12.12 a trip plus $1.06 a mile, and Level 2 pays $20.19 plus $1.54.

- Waiver rides carry members to jobs, adult day, errands, and outings in their service plan. Doctor and dialysis trips stay with the NEMT brokers.
- Indiana stopped certifying and enrolling new waiver transportation providers on August 1, 2026, for at least six months. An exception needs a written case that members lack access.
- PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI providers certify with FSSA's Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning. Family Supports and CIH providers apply to the Bureau of Disabilities Services.
- Enroll as IHCP provider type 32 within 90 days of certification, pay the $750 fee for 2026 enrollments, and bill with your IHCP Provider ID, never an NPI.
- Most PathWays claims go to Anthem, Humana, or UnitedHealthcare. The other four waivers bill Indiana Medicaid fee-for-service within 180 days of the trip.

Indiana pays for rides that have nothing to do with a doctor visit through its home and community-based services waivers. A waiver member's ride to a job, an adult day center, the grocery store, or church can be a paid trip for your company, set in the member's service plan and repeated on the days the member goes. The hard part right now is timing: Indiana closed the door to new waiver transportation providers on August 1, 2026. This guide covers that freeze, how certification works when it reopens, and what the work pays. For Indiana's Medicaid ride brokers and passenger authority, see the [Indiana NEMT guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/indiana/).

## Which Indiana waivers pay for rides

Five [1915(c) waivers](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/1915c-waiver/) include a nonmedical transportation service. Two offices inside the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) approve the providers, under two different rulebooks.

- **PathWays for Aging, Health and Wellness, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).** FSSA's Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning (OMPP) has certified providers for these three since July 1, 2024, under the Aging Rule, 455 IAC 2. PathWays serves people 60 and older who need a nursing facility level of care. Health and Wellness serves people 59 and younger with a disability, and TBI serves people with a traumatic brain injury.
- **Family Supports and Community Integration and Habilitation (CIH).** The Bureau of Disabilities Services (BDS) approves providers for these two, under 460 IAC 6. Both serve people with an intellectual or developmental disability, autism, or a related condition.

The OMPP waivers allow trips to adult day services, community and senior centers, volunteer work or a job, grocery stores, pharmacies and other errands, and social outings such as church or a visit to family (PathWays provider module, version 2.2, June 15, 2026). The BDS waivers allow any nonmedical destination in the member's plan, including work, for up to two one-way trips a day.

None of them pays for medical care trips. IHCP bulletin BT2024136 (August 27, 2024) draws that line for PathWays: doctor visits and dialysis are NEMT, arranged by the state's broker or the member's health plan broker. Indiana's transportation module exempts rides to waiver services from Verida's brokerage, but a waiver member's ride to any other Medicaid service must still go through Verida.

The modules add these limits:

- **Free help comes first.** Family, neighbors, friends, or community agencies that can give the ride for free are used before a paid provider.
- **No rides for members who receive Adult Family Care or Assisted Living** in the OMPP waivers. Assisted Living's daily rate already includes transportation.
- **No pay when the driver is the member's spouse,** or the parent of a member who is a minor.
- **Nothing the Medicaid state plan already covers.**

For how waiver work compares with broker work in other states, see [waiver transportation providers](https://nemtguide.com/guides/waiver-transportation-provider/).

## Can you become a waiver transportation provider now?

Not through the normal route. On July 23, 2026, the Indiana Health Coverage Programs (IHCP) announced in bulletin BT2026124 that CMS had approved a statewide [enrollment moratorium](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/enrollment-moratorium/) on 1915(c) waiver providers. It took effect August 1, 2026, for an initial six months, and IHCP may extend it six months at a time. Transportation is one of the covered services, in all five waivers. As of October 2026, it is still in effect.

Here is what the moratorium does:

1. **It stops new certification and IHCP enrollment** for waiver transportation.
2. **It freezes growth for current agencies.** They cannot add counties, add a frozen service, or change ownership.
3. **It ended applications in the queue.** OMPP applications already under review when it was announced were processed, but those still waiting for review, and new ones, expired. Family Supports and CIH applications under review expired, and those in provisional approval are held until the moratorium ends. Expired applicants may reapply after it lifts.
4. **It denied unfinished enrollments.** Any IHCP enrollment that had not cleared screening by August 1 was denied.

### How to ask for an exception

IHCP says it will consider limited exceptions to make sure members in areas of need can get waiver services. The bulletin sets two conditions:

1. Your company must already meet every provider qualification for transportation.
2. You send a narrative explaining how your request would fix an access problem, by email to OMPPProviderRelations@fssa.in.gov.

While you wait, you can still drive Indiana Medicaid members to medical care through the brokers in the [Indiana guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/indiana/), and you can gather the documents below so your application is ready when certification reopens.

## How certification works for PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI

These are the OMPP steps, for when the portal reopens or you hold an approved exception. One certification covers the same service in both PathWays and Health and Wellness. TBI certification goes through the same OMPP portal.

### Step 1: Gather the documents

OMPP's nonmedical transportation service sheet and its document definitions (both last updated August 25, 2025) list what to upload, each document as its own file:

- **Secretary of State letter.** A current Certificate of Organization with the state seal, signature, and date, in your exact legal name. Articles of Organization are not accepted.
- **W-9 or IRS EIN letter,** with a name and address that match the application exactly.
- **Background checks** for the owner and every current employee, dated within 90 days of the application. A limited, national, fingerprint, or expanded check is accepted, and a limited check needs a copy of the person's driver's license. Cover Indiana and any state the person lived in before. County and sheriff checks are not accepted. A conviction for a sex crime, exploitation of an endangered adult, child abuse or neglect, failure to report abuse, theft in the last 10 years, murder, manslaughter, or battery fails the check. See [NEMT driver background checks](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-driver-background-check/).
- **TB results.** A negative TB test or chest X-ray for the owner and each employee with direct contact, showing the medical professional's name and credentials and when the test was given and read.
- **Liability insurance.** A current policy naming the agency (and any DBA) that covers personal injury, loss of life, and property damage from fire, accident, or other casualty while you serve a member. A quote does not count.
- **Vehicles and drivers.** Current Indiana registration for every vehicle, in the name of someone involved in the business, a current insurance card for each, and each driver's current license. Drivers must be at least 18. BMV website screenshots are not accepted.
- **Operations manual.** Policies on employee rights and responsibilities, file retention, HIPAA, incident reporting, job descriptions, job performance reviews, personnel, quality assurance, and transfer of information, plus an organizational chart with a transportation driver position. The incident reporting policy must copy the Aging Rule's unusual occurrence section, 455 IAC 2-8-2, in full. See [NEMT policies and procedures](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-policies-and-procedures/).

You do not need a home health or personal services agency license. The PathWays module lists a transportation agency with no license required, and FSSA removed the home health license requirement for Health and Wellness and TBI transportation from January 1, 2026 (bulletin BT202614). The Aging Rule still requires vehicles in good repair, maintenance records you can produce, proper registration, and proof of insurance (455 IAC 2-12-1).

### Step 2: Apply in the certification portal

Apply at omppproviders.fssa.in.gov, with one account per business entity and an email address unique to it. Each service location needs its own application. The portal's rules, as posted in October 2026:

- You have 30 calendar days to submit after you start, or the application expires.
- Only one application can be active at a time.
- Incomplete applications are not reviewed. An insurance quote, an expired license, or a blank organizational chart is enough to expire one.
- OMPP reviews applications within four business days. Ten or more needed corrections expire the application. With nine or fewer, you get two tries per document, each due within five business days by 5 p.m.

### Step 3: Enroll with Indiana Medicaid

The certification letter starts your IHCP enrollment, which you must submit within 90 calendar days, online through the IHCP Provider Healthcare Portal or by mail. Enroll as provider type 32 (Waiver Provider), specialty 350 for PathWays and Health and Wellness or 356 for TBI, with Transportation as the secondary specialty (A17 or B23). Attach the certification letter, a W-9, and the EFT form.

IHCP's risk matrix (version 6.5, April 10, 2026) lists waiver transportation at limited risk, with an application fee. That fee is $750 for enrollments received in 2026, paid online for each service location. If it would cause a hardship, the service sheet says you can ask for a waiver with bank statements, tax returns, or proof of the loans or help you tried. See [the $750 Medicaid application fee](https://nemtguide.com/news/medicaid-enrollment-fee-750/).

Your IHCP enrollment date matches your certification date for each service. Waiver providers bill with their IHCP Provider ID, and IHCP does not let type 32 providers add an NPI.

### Step 4: Join the plans and the pick list

- **PathWays.** Most members are enrolled with Anthem, Humana, or UnitedHealthcare. Contract with each plan you want to serve and register on its provider portal. See [how to contract with Medicaid health plans](https://nemtguide.com/guides/contract-with-medicaid-health-plans/).
- **Health and Wellness and TBI.** FSSA adds your agency to the DDRS pick list that members choose from. Contact BDSProviderServices@fssa.in.gov.

Members choose providers with their care manager or service coordinator, so introduce your company, service area, and vehicles to the coordinators in your counties.

## How Family Supports and CIH approval works

BDS runs its own process, open year-round in normal times:

1. Email an inquiry to BDSProviderServices@fssa.in.gov, and BDS sends the full application.
2. Send the complete application as PDF files in one email. Scans are not accepted. An incomplete application comes back to you once in a calendar year. A second incomplete one is denied, and you cannot apply again for two years. BDS reviews a complete application within 60 days, and you have 30 days to answer any request for more information.
3. A complete application goes into provisional approval. Your chief executive, chief operating or financial officer, waiver administrator, and systems administrator must finish the BDS Leadership Training Series initial session within one year, with no extension.
4. After final approval, submit your IHCP enrollment within 90 calendar days. An enrollment not finished within 12 months of BDS approval counts as withdrawn.

Drivers on these waivers must hold a valid Indiana operator's, chauffeur's, public passenger chauffeur's, or commercial driver's license for the type of vehicle they drive (460 IAC 6-34-1).

## What Indiana waiver transportation pays

PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI pay a base rate per trip plus a mileage rate, by level. Level 1 is for a member who needs no mechanical help getting in and out of the vehicle, and Level 2 is for a member who does. Bill each base trip and its mileage together (BT2024136). These rates appear in the PathWays module (June 15, 2026) and the DDARS module (September 24, 2026), and they match the rates the Division of Aging set on July 1, 2023:

| Ride | Code | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 base trip | T2003 U7 U1 UB | $12.12 |
| Level 1 mileage | T2003 U7 U1 | $1.06 a mile |
| Level 2 base trip | T2003 U7 U2 UB | $20.19 |
| Level 2 mileage | T2003 U7 U2 | $1.54 a mile |

Here is a typical day. A member who needs a lift rides 9 miles each way to an adult day center. Two Level 2 base trips pay $40.38, and 18 miles at $1.54 pay $27.72, so the day pays $68.10. The same trips at Level 1 pay $43.32.

The Division of Aging's billing memo of October 12, 2023, written for the Aged and Disabled waiver before PathWays began, limited base trips to two per member per day. It also said to bill the miles you actually drive, not every unit on the member's notice of action, because billing unused units could trigger an audit. Ask the member's care manager what your authorization allows.

Family Supports and CIH pay a flat rate per one-way trip, with no separate mileage, for up to two trips a day:

| Level and code | Vehicle | Rate per trip |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1, T2002 U7 U5 | Not specially equipped | $15.05 |
| Level 2, T2002 U7 U5 U2 | Built for wheelchairs | $26.52 |
| Level 3, T2002 U7 U5 U3 | For a member who must stay lying down, such as an ambulette | $47.88 |

Each level also has a yearly limit per member: $7,530 for Level 1, $8,255 for Level 2, and $8,980 for Level 3. In CIH, rides are paid outside the member's budget allocation. In Family Supports, they count toward the waiver's $26,482 yearly cap, so rides compete with the member's other services. For the codes themselves, see [T2003](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/t2003/) and [T2002](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/t2002/).

## Billing and records

- **Authorization first.** Every trip needs an approved service authorization listing the units, the code and modifiers, the unit cost, and the dates. Claims deny when no authorization exists or when you bill a different code.
- **Where to bill.** PathWays claims go to the member's plan, through its portal, an 837P, or an original CMS-1500 (black-and-white copies are not accepted). A few PathWays members, such as American Indians and Alaska Natives who choose not to join a plan, stay fee-for-service, and their claims go to IHCP. See [CMS-1500 for NEMT](https://nemtguide.com/guides/cms-1500-for-nemt/). Health and Wellness, TBI, Family Supports, and CIH members are in Traditional Medicaid, so those claims go to IHCP within 180 days of the date of service.
- **One month per claim.** Never put dates from two months on the same claim.
- **Eligibility.** Check it for each date of service. When a member owes a monthly waiver liability, Medicaid pays nothing until it is met.
- **Trip notes.** BDS wants the member's name and IHCP Member ID, the date, the provider, and the pickup point and destination. OMPP requires a file retention policy that keeps service records 7 years from the last date of service. See [NEMT trip documentation](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-trip-documentation/).
- **Stopping service.** Give at least 30 calendar days' written notice to the member, any legal representative, the care manager, and OMPP.
- **Changes.** Report name, tax ID, location, county, and ownership changes to OMPP through the portal within 10 calendar days. Many need a new certification letter before you can update your IHCP profile.
- **Recertification.** OMPP recertifies providers and runs a compliance review every three years. It emails you three months before your due date, then asks for background checks, TB tests, and driver's licenses for some employees, due within five business days.

For IHCP enrollment and claim questions, call Customer Assistance at 800-457-4584.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I apply to be an Indiana waiver transportation provider right now?

Not through the normal route. A moratorium approved by CMS has blocked new certification and enrollment for waiver transportation since August 1, 2026, for an initial six months that Indiana can extend six months at a time. Indiana will consider limited exceptions where members lack access. You must already meet every provider qualification and email a narrative about the access problem you would solve to OMPPProviderRelations@fssa.in.gov.

### How much does Indiana waiver transportation pay?

In the PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI waivers, Level 1 pays $12.12 a base trip plus $1.06 a mile, and Level 2 pays $20.19 a base trip plus $1.54 a mile, under code T2003. Family Supports and CIH pay a flat $15.05, $26.52, or $47.88 per one-way trip by level under code T2002, up to two trips a day. These are the rates in FSSA's provider modules as of September 2026.

### What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 waiver transportation in Indiana?

In PathWays, Health and Wellness, and TBI, Level 1 is for a member who needs no mechanical help getting in and out of the vehicle, and Level 2 is for a member who does. In Family Supports and CIH, Level 1 uses a vehicle that is not specially equipped, Level 2 a vehicle built for wheelchairs, and Level 3 a vehicle for a member who must stay lying down, such as an ambulette. The member's plan sets the level.

### Do I need a home health agency license to provide waiver transportation?

No. The PathWays provider module lists a transportation agency as a qualified provider with no license required, as long as FSSA approves it and it meets the Aging Rule, 455 IAC 2. FSSA also dropped the home health agency license requirement for Health and Wellness and TBI transportation for dates of service from January 1, 2026. You still need registered, insured vehicles and licensed drivers.

### Can waiver transportation take a member to a doctor appointment?

No. Waiver transportation covers nonmedical trips in the member's service plan, and it may not replace Medicaid's medical rides. Doctor and dialysis trips go through Verida for Traditional Medicaid members or through the member's health plan broker. Indiana exempts rides to waiver services from Verida's brokerage, but a waiver member's ride to any other Medicaid service must be brokered.

### Do Indiana waiver transportation providers need an NPI?

No. Indiana treats waiver providers as atypical providers. You bill with the IHCP Provider ID assigned at enrollment, and Indiana does not let waiver providers (type 32) add an NPI to their profile, so a claim billed with an NPI will deny.

## Official resources

- [FSSA OMPP: Medicaid HCBS Certification (process, portal, and service sheets)](https://www.in.gov/fssa/ompp/hcbs-certification-process)
- [OMPP HCBS Certification Portal](https://omppproviders.fssa.in.gov/)
- [IHCP bulletin BT2026124: the HCBS moratorium and how to ask for an exception](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/bulletins/BT2026124.pdf)
- [FSSA OMPP: Nonmedical Transportation service sheet and document checklist](https://www.in.gov/dA/fb045230ec/Nonmedical-Transportation.pdf)
- [FSSA OMPP: Required Document Definitions](https://www.in.gov/dA/10e571c788/Required-Document-Definitions.pdf)
- [IHCP provider module: OMPP HCBS, Indiana PathWays for Aging Waiver](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/modules/ompp-hcbs-waiver.pdf)
- [IHCP provider module: DDARS HCBS Waivers (Health and Wellness, TBI, Family Supports, CIH)](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/modules/ddrs-hcbs-waivers.pdf)