NEMT Broker Transition Checklist for 2027: What to Do When Your State or Plan Switches Brokers

When a state or a health plan hands its rides to a new broker, every trip you run in that program moves on one date. Nothing moves by itself. You need a new contract, a clean credential file, your standing orders in the new system, and a plan for the money the old broker still owes you.

How a NEMT broker transition happens

States hire brokers through competitive bids, and the contracts end. Under 42 CFR 440.170(a)(4), a broker hired for a state’s NEMT brokerage program must be chosen through competitive bidding that follows the federal procurement rules in 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.327. The state judges bids on experience, performance, references, resources, qualifications, and cost. Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services says state law requires it to rebid its vendor on a regular schedule.

A rebid runs through public steps: the request for proposals, a notice of intent to award, and a start date. Losing bidders can protest an award, as in South Carolina’s rebid. Wisconsin announced its notice of intent to pick Verida on May 21, 2026. As of August 25, 2026, it had set no switch date, MTM Health’s contract continues through the procurement period, and it tells providers they do not need to do anything yet. See how state NEMT broker contracts are awarded.

Health plans change their own vendors too, and they announce it with a provider notice. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico posted its notice on July 15, 2026 for a November 1, 2026 switch.

Rides may not stop on switch day. If the outgoing broker is paid per member as a NEMT prepaid ambulatory health plan, 42 CFR 438.9 applies 42 CFR 438.62(a): when that contract ends, the state must arrange its members’ rides without delay. So the new broker builds its network before the start date, and that is your window.

Broker changes dated in official notices

Start date	Program	Old broker	New broker	What the notice tells providers
April 1, 2026	Georgia Medicaid, Central, East, and Southwest regions	Modivcare	Verida, now in all five regions	Transportation providers must contact Verida
May 12, 2026	IEHP (California), NEMT only	Call the Car	IEHP’s own transportation department	Medical offices keep requesting trips through IEHP’s provider portal. Call the Car keeps non-medical rides.
July 1, 2026	Colorado, nine Denver metro counties	Transdev	MediDrive	Contract with MediDrive under the same business name, NPI, and Medicaid ID
October 1, 2026	Montana, statewide	Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, with enrollment and billing by the state’s claims contractor	Modivcare	Every provider must complete enrollment with Modivcare to keep serving Medicaid
October 1, 2026	Virginia fee-for-service	Modivcare	MTM Health	Trips on or after October 1 go through MTM
October 1, 2026	Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Medicaid	Modivcare	MTM Health	Recurring and booked trips after October 1 move to MTM
November 1, 2026	Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Medicaid	Modivcare	MTM Health	Recurring and booked trips after November 1 move to MTM
January 1, 2027	Colorado, the other 55 counties	Providers bill the state directly	MediDrive	HCPF named this statewide date and an October 1, 2026 enrollment date (page as of August 2026)
No date set	Wisconsin	MTM Health	Verida	Nothing to do yet (August 25, 2026)

For more on each change, see Montana’s new broker, the Denver metro launch, and Wisconsin’s award.

What changes for your company

Almost everything about the work stays the same: the riders, the clinics, the vans. What changes is the paperwork around it.

Area	What to expect	Example from an official notice
Contract	A new agreement with the new broker, and the old one ends	MTM Health’s standard agreement lets MTM end it immediately if MTM’s own contract with the state or plan ends (Pennsylvania’s posted version, January 1, 2023)
Medicaid enrollment	Sometimes the new broker takes it over	In Montana, Modivcare takes over all NEMT provider enrollment and billing from the state’s contractor (notice of July 9, 2026)
Credentialing	The new broker checks your company, drivers, and vehicles against its own list	MediDrive’s Colorado list includes a 10-panel drug screen and a federal background check, each within 30 days, an FBI fingerprint check, and driving records for the current year plus two
Technology	A new trip portal, driver app, or devices you must buy	Colorado requires tablets and video and audio cameras that work with MediDrive’s system. MediDrive supplies only the software.
Rates	Set by the new contract, not carried over	MTM sets Virginia rates with each provider. Colorado’s FAQ on the new model points providers to the state NEMT fee schedule for rates.
Insurance	New certificates that name the new broker	MTM’s Virginia page requires MTM as certificate holder and additional insured, plus workers’ compensation that meets state rules
Payment	A new claim process and pay cycle	Montana says Modivcare pays clean claims by direct deposit or check within seven days of batch processing
Booking	Riders call a new number, or the same number answered by a new company	Montana kept its member line, (800) 292-7114, and made it 24 hours

The broker transition checklist

Work through it in order. The dates come from your state’s or plan’s notice, so write them at the top of the page before you start.

As soon as the change is announced

1. Save the official notice. Mark the go-live date, which trips move (by date of service), and whether the new broker also takes over enrollment or billing, as in Montana.
2. Get on the mailing lists. Sign up for state provider bulletins and email alerts. Colorado sent its instructions by email and in monthly bulletins, and told providers to keep their contact details current in the state’s provider portal.
3. Call the new broker’s provider line. Ask for its application, its document list, its insurance limits, and whether it is adding providers in your counties. Verida’s Georgia page says it reviews each application for a need in the region. Colorado’s memo says any qualified provider may apply to contract with MediDrive, with no cap on the number.
4. Count what is moving. Tally the trips a week, standing orders, and revenue that ride on this program. If it is most of your income, start building other work now. See NEMT payer mix.

Eight to four weeks before go-live

5. Apply under the same identity. Use exactly the legal name, NPI, and Medicaid ID the old broker has on file. Colorado told Transdev providers to do this so their records would transfer to MediDrive.
6. Build the credential file. Company papers, a driver roster, and a vehicle roster, with every date current. Our NEMT broker credentialing guide and credentialing checklist list what brokers ask for.
7. Keep the old broker’s file current. Colorado required providers to keep their driver and vehicle rosters current with the old broker for the whole transition. MTM’s Virginia handbook warns that you lose payment for trips run by drivers with expired documents.
8. Send new insurance certificates. Ask your agent to name the new broker the way its contract requires.
9. Set up devices and finish training. MTM’s Virginia handbook requires state and MTM training before a driver carries any member, and says missed training costs trip assignments.

The last two weeks

10. Run every trip the old broker assigned. Under MTM’s standard agreement, a provider that gives notice must still run trips already assigned during its 30-day notice period, or it can be charged liquidated damages.
11. Tell riders how to book after the date. Montana members could book with Modivcare from September 1, 2026 for rides on or after October 1. Colorado told Denver metro members to call MediDrive from June 15, 2026 for appointments on or after July 1.
12. Check every standing order. Plans often move recurring trips for members, but confirm. Ask the new broker for the list of recurring trips assigned to you and compare it with your own. MTM’s Virginia handbook sends a standing order to the provider named on it, so ask to be named on each one you carry. See NEMT standing orders and the standing order form.
13. Tell your facilities. Dialysis centers and day programs book standing rides too. Montana added a facility line, (866) 726-1469, and Colorado facilities book through MediDrive’s facility portal.

Go-live day and the first month

14. Run only trips the new broker assigned. In Colorado’s metro counties, a trip on or after July 1, 2026 is paid only if the provider has a MediDrive contract and MediDrive scheduled the trip.
15. Bill by date of service. Trips before go-live go to the old broker or the state. Trips on or after it go to the new broker.
16. Check the first payments. Compare each line with your new rate sheet and your trip log.
17. Watch your trip count. New brokers offer trips on their own schedule. MTM’s Virginia handbook sends trips to eligible providers 7 days before the appointment and shows all open trips in a provider’s service area 5 days before. If your volume drops, ask your provider relations contact why.

Closing out the old broker

18. Bill every earlier trip before its deadline. The limits differ by payer:

Who you bill	Filing limit	Source
MTM Health, standard agreement	90 days after the date of service, unless MTM’s client sets another limit	Section 6.A, Pennsylvania’s posted version (January 1, 2023)
MTM Health, Virginia fee-for-service	6 months from the date of service for a clean claim, and 365 days to appeal a denial	Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026)
A state Medicaid program, billed directly	No more than 12 months from the date of service under federal rules. Your state’s limit may be shorter.	42 CFR 447.45(d)(1)

19. Expect the last payment to take longer. MTM’s standard agreement holds all unpaid claims at the time of a termination notice until MTM audits your service records, and lets it offset liquidated damages against them.
20. Keep your records. MTM’s standard agreement requires full records for 10 years. Download remittance reports and trip logs from the old broker’s portal before your access ends. See NEMT record retention and the timely filing limit.

How to protect your cash during the switch

Two pay cycles overlap in a transition. The old broker’s last payments can be held for audit, and the new broker’s first payment follows its own schedule. MTM’s standard agreement pays uncontested invoices within 30 days after online submission. Montana says its new program pays clean claims within seven days of batch processing.

Plan for the gap before it arrives:

• Estimate it. Take a normal month of revenue from the program and assume the old broker’s last month arrives late.
• Bill old trips every week, not at the end, so fewer claims are open when the audit starts.
• Fix denials fast. Correct or appeal each denied claim from the old broker as soon as it comes back. See NEMT claim denials.
• Hold a reserve for payroll, fuel, and insurance. Our cash flow guide and cash reserve calculator help you size it.

What to tell riders and facilities

Riders hear about the change from the state or plan. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and of New Mexico both say they send letters to eligible members, and your drivers can repeat the message at every pickup. Wisconsin says the vendor change will not change the rides members are eligible for.

Keep the message short and give it to every regular rider in writing:

Your Medicaid rides are not ending. Starting [date], [new broker] books them. Call [number] to book or change a ride. Your standing rides should move over, but please call once to confirm.

Cover three more points:

• A cancellation can be a transfer. IEHP told members that a cancellation notice from Call the Car meant the trip had moved to IEHP and was still active.
• Do not book Medicaid trips yourself. The new broker authorizes each ride. A trip it did not assign may not be paid.
• Never charge the rider. MTM’s standard agreement says the provider looks only to MTM for payment and may not bill a member, even if MTM or its client does not pay.

Facilities need the new booking route too. Give each dialysis center and day program the new broker’s facility number or portal, and ask them to confirm their standing orders moved.