# How to Switch NEMT Software in 2027: A Cutover Plan Without Missed Rides

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/guides/switch-nemt-software/ · Updated 2026-09-30

To switch NEMT software without missed rides, get each broker to approve and connect the new system before you move, sign its HIPAA business associate agreement, and export everything from the old one. Load drivers, vehicles, and standing orders, run both systems side by side for a week, then cut over on a quiet day. Keep old records for 6 to 10 years, or longer if a contract requires.

- Ask every broker to review and connect the new system before cutover. MTM can refuse a connection, and New York's broker can stop sending trips when GPS data stops arriving.
- Brokers assign trips days ahead, so on switch day your old system already holds a week or more of future rides and standing orders.
- Run both systems for one week, but let only one system report each trip's times, GPS, and signature to the broker.
- Bill every trip from the system that ran it, and keep old access until those claims are paid or past appeal.
- Keep a full, readable export of your old trip records for as long as your longest rule requires, often 6 to 10 years.

Switching NEMT software means moving trips that are already in motion. Brokers assign rides days ahead, standing orders repeat every week, and each broker expects GPS points, trip times, and signatures to keep arriving from whatever system you use. Plan the move around those three things, and no pickup has to fall through the gap.

## Why rides get missed during a software switch

Five gaps can cost you rides or payment while you change systems. Each one has a fix you can plan before the move.

| Gap | Why it happens | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Trips already assigned | MTM Health, which runs Virginia's fee-for-service rides from October 1, 2026, sends trips to providers 7 days before the appointment and opens its marketplace 5 days before (handbook approved August 10, 2026). On switch day, your old system already holds a week of future rides. | Move future trips before cutover and compare counts day by day |
| Standing orders | Recurring rides are most of the work in many programs. In Wisconsin in May 2026, 203,022 of the 301,246 trip legs MTM Health completed were tied to recurring appointments, according to the state's monthly report. | Rebuild each series and check it two weeks ahead |
| The broker connection | A broker that stops receiving your GPS and trip events can stop sending you trips | Get each broker's review and a working connection first |
| Driver and vehicle records | MTM's standard agreement pays nothing for trips by uncredentialed drivers or vehicles. WellTrans pays nothing for drivers or vehicles it has not registered and approved. | Load drivers and vehicles exactly as each broker lists them |
| Claims still open | Trips run in the old system still need to be billed, fixed, and paid | Keep the old system open until those claims close |

The rest of this guide takes each gap in order. If you are still choosing a vendor, start with [how to choose NEMT software](https://nemtguide.com/guides/how-to-choose-nemt-software/).

## Check both contracts before you sign anything

Read the contract you are leaving before you sign the new one. Note the notice period, any automatic renewal, what you can export, and what happens to your data at the end. Give notice so the old system stays active through a week of running both systems and until your last old claims are paid.

If your company is covered by HIPAA or works as a broker's business associate, the business associate agreement with your old vendor matters most at the end. It must require the vendor to return or destroy all rider health information when the contract ends, where feasible, and keep no copies ([45 CFR 164.504(e)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.504)). Where that is not feasible, the agreement's protections must continue for whatever the vendor keeps.

HHS adds two protections. A vendor may not block your access to your records to settle a payment dispute, and HHS calls a software "kill switch" used that way an impermissible use of health information. When the agreement calls for your data to be returned, the vendor must return it in a format that keeps it accessible and usable (HHS OCR FAQ 2074, content last reviewed January 9, 2023).

For the new vendor, get three things in writing before you load any rider names:

1. **A signed business associate agreement.** HIPAA lets a vendor create, receive, keep, or send electronic health information for you only after you get written assurances that it will protect it ([45 CFR 164.308(b)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.308)). See [business associate agreement](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/business-associate-agreement/).
2. **The broker connections it runs today.** Ask for each of your brokers by name, and ask to speak with a company that uses that connection.
3. **Your export rights.** You can export everything, at any time, as spreadsheet and PDF files, so a future move is just as clean.

## Tell each broker before you move

Your brokers decide whether the new system can carry their trips. Some write the rules into your agreement:

| Broker | What its rules say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| MTM Health (standard agreement, January 1, 2023 version posted by Pennsylvania) | You may use outside routing, scheduling, and dispatching software only if MTM first reviews whether it meets MTM's GPS rules, and the software sends the GPS data to MTM through an API. MTM can refuse to set up that connection. Missing GPS data can bring suspended trips, liquidated damages, or termination (section 4.B). | Ask MTM to review the new system before you sign. MTM's Virginia handbook (approved August 10, 2026) says it connects with over 20 outside applications. |
| Medical Answering Services, New York (network manual, October 1, 2023) | A billing or routing company must register with MAS and get a data key for each client, and billing companies must enroll with New York Medicaid as a service bureau. Since November 10, 2025, GPS data must reach MAS by API within 30 minutes of collection, or you cannot attest to the trip (MAS letter, September 11, 2025). Since December 23, 2025, MAS's system turns away any GPS point that arrives later than that (MAS letter, December 23, 2025). MAS says the limit may change, with notice. | Have the new vendor register and get its data key before cutover. The contract terms quoted in the MAS letter let it suspend all trip assignments until a working connection is in place. |
| WellTrans, Indiana (manual revised February 17, 2023, and agreement revised October 16, 2025) | WellTrans settles at onboarding how you get trips and send trip completion data: in its free portal, from your own system as a file on its template, or on paper, and it trains you for that choice. To change methods later, you ask WellTrans, and it schedules new training and a start date. You must use its trip log and summary invoice forms unless it consents in writing to others. Billing and factoring companies that get your trip logs or manifests must sign a business associate agreement with you. | Ask WellTrans for the change before you move. Get training on the upload template, a start date in writing, and written consent for any new trip log form. |
| Modivcare (provider page, September 2026) | Modivcare says its platform connects with a wide variety of dispatch systems. It also offers its own dispatch software at no or reduced cost for Modivcare trips. | Ask Modivcare whether it connects with your new system, and how long setup takes |
| CareOregon, Oregon (provider manual template, version 1.3, February 2024) | Its guidelines for the brokerages serving its members expect a computer and internet able to receive ride assignments, a supported operating system with security updates, a login or physical lock on each device, and software that can bill electronically. Drivers need a phone or tablet that receives ride assignments. | Check each item on your office computers and driver devices |

Other brokers have their own steps. Ask each broker's provider relations team, in writing, what it must review, how long the connection takes, and which date to switch. Find each broker's contacts in our [broker directory](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/), and see [MTM Health](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/mtm-health/), [Medical Answering Services](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/medical-answering-services/), [WellTrans](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/welltrans/), and [Modivcare](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/modivcare/) for their programs. For what brokers expect from your GPS data, see [NEMT GPS tracking](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-gps-tracking/).

### Medicaid claims you send straight to the state

If the new system sends claims to your state Medicaid program, the state may need its own setup first:

- **Indiana.** Anyone exchanging electronic claims directly with the Indiana Health Coverage Programs must set up a trading partner relationship, and providers using approved vendor software count as trading partners. Production access comes only after the software is tested and approved for each transaction type, and an existing trading partner reports a change of vendor software on its IHCP Trading Partner Profile. Providers that send only through an IHCP-approved clearinghouse, an approved billing service, or the IHCP Provider Healthcare Portal do not need to be trading partners. Electronic remittances are set up in the Provider Healthcare Portal under Provider Maintenance, ERA Changes (EDI module, published March 20, 2025).
- **New York.** Electronic claims go through an Electronic Transmitter Identification Number (ETIN). The billing provider's NPI must be linked to the ETIN that sends the claims, or they reject. Each ETIN is recertified every year on a notarized statement with an original signature, and a lapsed ETIN blocks electronic claims and can switch your remittances back to paper, according to eMedNY's ETIN FAQs.

Ask your state's EDI help desk what changes when your claim software changes. See [clearinghouse](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/clearinghouse/) and trading partner agreement.

## What to export from your old system

Export once when you start planning, and again on the last day. Your trip records back up every claim already paid, so treat the export as an audit file.

| Export | Why you need it | Check before you trust it |
|---|---|---|
| Every trip leg: times, GPS trail, odometer readings, signatures, no-shows | Proof for audits and appeals | Signature images open, and each leg shows actual pickup and drop-off times |
| Claims, remittances, denials, and appeals | Open claims still need follow-up | Every unpaid claim appears, with its denial reason |
| Drivers and vehicles | Your credential records | License numbers, VINs, and expiration dates match each broker's records |
| Riders and standing orders | Rebuilding recurring rides | Days, times, addresses, level of service, escort, and end dates |
| Facility and private pay accounts, rates, and invoices | Billing outside the brokers | Balances match your books |
| User list and activity logs, if the system keeps them | Showing who entered or changed what | Dates cover your whole time on the system |

Ask for data in spreadsheet files (CSV or Excel) and for signed trip logs as PDF or image files. Open a sample of each file type. Count the legs for one month in the export and compare them with your claims for that month.

Keep the records in the form the system produced them. New York's transportation manual (effective August 25, 2023) lets drivers confirm trips electronically instead of signing, but only if you can produce each leg with an accurate, system-generated, unmodifiable date and time stamp for the pickup and drop-off, for the full six years it requires.

The export holds rider health information, so protect it like the live system. HIPAA requires a data backup plan that keeps retrievable exact copies of electronic health information ([45 CFR 164.308(a)(7)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.308)). Its device rules also call for an exact copy, when needed, before equipment is moved ([45 CFR 164.310(d)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.310)). Store the export encrypted, in two places, and limit who can open it.

## Set up the new system before the parallel week

1. **Update your HIPAA risk analysis.** A risk analysis is a required safeguard ([45 CFR 164.308(a)(1)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.308)), and HHS guidance, last reviewed August 12, 2026, says risks should be analyzed when a company plans to bring in new technology. Note where the new system keeps data and who can reach it.
2. **Load drivers and vehicles exactly as each broker lists them.** MTM Health's Rhode Island handbook (last updated July 1, 2026) has providers enter driver license numbers and VINs on bulk claim uploads exactly as they appear in MTM's portal. Use the same values in the new system so trips and claims match. Give a broker's trips only to drivers and vehicles that broker has credentialed. MTM's Virginia handbook treats using a driver or vehicle never credentialed in its system as a level 3 infraction, which brings a suspension of at least 5 days. See [NEMT broker credentialing](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-broker-credentialing/).
3. **Give every user a login of their own.** Unique user identification is a required HIPAA safeguard ([45 CFR 164.312](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.312)). Set each person's access to what the job needs.
4. **Enter rates and payers.** Load each broker's rate sheet, each facility contract, and your private pay prices, with the right codes. See [NEMT billing codes](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-billing-codes/).
5. **Set up driver phones and tablets.** Install the new app and have each driver log in before the parallel week. Before any device goes to someone else or is retired, remove the rider data on it, as HIPAA's disposal and media re-use rules require ([45 CFR 164.310(d)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.310)).
6. **Keep paper trip logs in every van.** MTM Health's Rhode Island handbook tells all drivers to carry paper copies of approved trip logs as a backup, even with an app or approved routing software. Use each broker's approved form.
7. **Train on your own trips.** Walk dispatchers and drivers through one real day: a pickup, a no-show, a will-call return, and a cancellation.

## Move your standing orders

Standing orders carry the most risk in a switch, because one mistake repeats every week. They come in two kinds.

- **Broker standing orders.** The broker holds the order and sends each ride. In Virginia, MTM automatically assigns recurring trips set to a designated provider to that provider. Once the broker's connection points to your new system, those rides should arrive there. Compare them, ride by ride, with the old system for the next 14 days.
- **Your own recurring rides.** Facility contracts and private pay riders exist only in your old system. Re-enter each series with its days, pickup and appointment times, addresses, level of service, escort, and end date.

Keep the same driver where you can. MTM's Virginia handbook asks providers to make a best-faith effort to use the same driver for recurring trips, and to document when a different driver is needed. Carry each series' regular driver into the new system.

Protect them while you switch. MediTrans in Louisiana warns that a provider that falls out of compliance will lose its standing orders, as of September 2026. Under MTM Virginia's point system, 8 points bring a 10-day suspension and the loss of any assigned recurring trips. See [NEMT standing orders](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-standing-orders/) and the [standing order form](https://nemtguide.com/templates/nemt-standing-order-form/).

## Run both systems for one week

A week covers each weekday once, so every recurring pattern, such as a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday dialysis series, runs at least once in both systems.

Keep one rule for the week: for each broker, only one system reports each trip. Drivers use one app per trip, and only that app sends times, GPS, and signatures to the broker. Two apps reporting one ride can send the broker two sets of times. New York's broker treats routing data that does not show the driver's actual location and time as possible fraud, and reports it to the state (network manual, October 1, 2023).

There are two safe ways to run the week:

- **Shadow run.** The old system keeps the broker connection and drivers keep the old app. Load the same trips into the new system from the broker's trip export, where it has one, such as the Trip Export in MTM's Rhode Island portal. Dispatch builds each day in both systems and compares them.
- **One broker first.** Move one broker's trips to the new system for the week, once that broker's connection is live, and keep the rest on the old one.

Check these every day of the week:

| Check | What should match |
|---|---|
| Trips per broker per day | The same count in both systems and in each broker's portal, for today and the next 7 days |
| Pickup and appointment times | Identical, with a.m. and p.m. right |
| Level of service and vehicle | Wheelchair trips on wheelchair vans, stretcher trips on stretcher vans |
| Standing orders | Every series present, with its end date |
| Driver and vehicle on each trip | Credentialed with that broker |
| GPS and trip events | Showing in the broker's portal for trips run on the new app |
| Completed trips | Ready to bill in the broker's portal |

MTM Health's Rhode Island handbook says to check every synced trip before submitting claims, even with approved routing software. Fix any missing field, including trip times, driver name, vehicle VIN, and member signature. Do that each day of the parallel week, then hold a go or no-go meeting on the last day. If anything is still failing, stay on the old system and fix it first.

## Cutover day, step by step

Pick a lighter day with your full office staff on hand, and avoid the week a large claim batch is due.

1. **Confirm each broker connection.** Get each broker's written confirmation of the date and time trips start going to the new system.
2. **Freeze the old system** at a set hour. Enter any later changes only in the new one.
3. **Run a final export** of the old system and store it with the first one.
4. **Compare the next 7 days.** Trip counts by broker and by day match between each broker's portal and the new system.
5. **Log drivers in before the first pickup.** Each driver runs the first trip on the new app with paper logs in the van.
6. **Watch the first trips reach each broker.** Check GPS and status in each broker's portal within the first hour. In New York, GPS data must reach MAS within 30 minutes of collection.
7. **Reconcile at the end of the day.** Every trip shows a final status: completed, no-show, canceled, or turned back.
8. **Close what is no longer needed.** Remove the old app from driver devices and end old logins that are no longer needed. HIPAA's workforce and access rules call for procedures to end or change access ([45 CFR 164.308(a)(3) and (a)(4)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.308)).

Keep one or two office logins to the old system for claims and records until you no longer need them.

## Bill the trips you ran before the switch

Bill each trip from the system that ran it. That system holds the trip log, GPS trail, and signature the claim relies on. Keep the old system open until every trip run in it is paid or past its appeal deadline.

Some broker deadlines are short:

| Payer | Deadline to bill | After a denial |
|---|---|---|
| MTM Health standard agreement (January 1, 2023 version) | 90 days after the date of service, unless MTM's client sets another limit (section 6.A) | Appeal through MTM's appeals process |
| MTM Health, Virginia (handbook approved August 10, 2026) | 6 months from the date of service for a clean claim | 365 calendar days to appeal |
| WellTrans, Indiana (agreement revised October 16, 2025) | 60 days from the date of service. Invoices more than 90 days after it are disallowed in full. | Claims denied for missing information may be resubmitted |
| MediTrans, Louisiana (September 2026) | 365 days from the trip date, with trip documentation within 24 hours of the trip | Ask MediTrans for its process |

Two more checks keep payments flowing:

- **Send each claim once.** If both systems can bill a broker, split them by date of service: the old system bills trips before cutover, the new one bills trips after.
- **Follow your remittances.** Electronic payment files go wherever your account is set up to send them. Update that before the first claim from the new system, such as under ERA Changes in Indiana's provider portal.

See [how to bill NEMT brokers](https://nemtguide.com/guides/how-to-bill-nemt-brokers/) and [timely filing limit](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/timely-filing-limit/).

## Keep your old records for audits

Leaving a system does not end your duty to produce its records. Every state Medicaid plan must have providers agree to keep the records needed to show the extent of their services, and to hand them over on request ([42 CFR 431.107](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-431.107)). Keep your export for the longest period any rule you work under sets:

| Rule | How long |
|---|---|
| New York Medicaid transportation manual (effective August 25, 2023) | 6 years after the date of payment for each leg, with unmodifiable time stamps |
| CareOregon provider manual template (version 1.3, February 2024) | At least 6 years after the service, including the trip data sent to you by the brokerage's ride assignment software |
| MTM Health standard agreement (section 2.S) | 10 years, or longer if law or MTM's client requires |
| WellTrans Indiana agreement (revised October 16, 2025) | The life of the agreement plus 10 years, with copies within three days of a request |
| Federal managed care rules ([42 CFR 438.230](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/section-438.230)) | The state, CMS, and HHS OIG may audit a plan's subcontractors and their contractors, which can include you, for 10 years after the contract period or the last audit, whichever is later |
| HIPAA policies and required documentation ([45 CFR 164.316](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.316)) | 6 years from creation or the date last in effect, whichever is later |

Three habits keep old records usable:

1. **Get the vendor's written confirmation** that it returned or destroyed your data, or that the agreement's protections continue for anything it keeps.
2. **Open the archive once a year.** Check that the files still open, including signature images, and that you know where the only key is.
3. **Keep the paperwork with the data.** Store the old business associate agreement, the contract, and a note of when each export was made.

For state-by-state periods and how to destroy records safely, see [NEMT record retention](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-record-retention/).

## How long a switch takes: a six-week plan

| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Read both contracts. Sign the new business associate agreement. Ask each broker what it needs to review and connect the new system. |
| Week 2 | Export everything from the old system and check it. Update your risk analysis. |
| Week 3 | Load drivers, vehicles, rates, riders, and standing orders. Set up logins. |
| Week 4 | Train staff and drivers. Confirm each broker connection works, and set the cutover date in writing. |
| Week 5 | Run both systems for one week with the daily checks. Hold a go or no-go meeting on the last day. |
| Week 6 | Cut over. Watch the first trips reach each broker, and reconcile every day that week. |
| After | Bill old trips from the old system. Keep the final export as long as your longest record rule requires. Close old logins. |

Broker reviews can take longer than a week, so start them first and move the plan if a broker needs more time. For how trips reach your new system once it is live, see [NEMT broker trip imports](https://nemtguide.com/guides/broker-trip-imports/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does it take to switch NEMT software?

The plan on this page takes six weeks, and your brokers set the pace. Most of that time goes to broker reviews, connections, and setup, not the move itself. Ask each broker first how long its review takes, then add a week of running both systems. New York's broker contract gives providers 30 days to make technology changes it requires, or to document their plan, and lets it suspend trips if the GPS connection fails.

### Do I have to tell my broker I am changing software?

Yes, and often before you sign. MTM Health's standard agreement lets you use outside dispatch software only after MTM reviews it, and MTM can refuse the connection. In New York, a routing or billing company must register with the broker and get a data key for each client. WellTrans in Indiana asks you to request any change in how you get trips, then schedules training and a start date for the new method.

### Can I run two NEMT systems at the same time?

Yes, for a short parallel run. Load trips into both and compare them every day, but have drivers use one app for each trip so only one system sends times, GPS, and signatures to the broker. Two apps reporting one ride can send conflicting times, and New York's broker treats routing data that does not show the driver's real location and time as possible fraud.

### What happens to my trip records when I cancel my old software?

Your business associate agreement must require the vendor to return or destroy your rider information when the contract ends, where feasible. HHS says a vendor may not cut off your access to settle a payment dispute, and must return data in a usable format when the agreement calls for it. Export everything yourself first, and keep it for as long as your longest record rule requires.

### Will my standing orders move to the new system on their own?

Standing orders the broker holds keep coming from the broker, so they reach the new system once the broker's connection points there. In Virginia, for example, MTM assigns recurring trips set to a designated provider to that provider automatically. Check every series for the next two weeks against the old schedule. Recurring rides you arranged yourself, for facilities or private pay riders, live only in your old system, so re-enter each one.

### Does changing software affect my Medicaid claims?

It can if the new system sends claims straight to your state. In Indiana, a provider using approved vendor software is a trading partner, must report a change of vendor software on its Trading Partner Profile, and gets production access only after the software is tested and approved. In New York, the billing provider's NPI must be linked to whichever ETIN sends the claims. Ask your state's EDI help desk before your first claim.

## Official resources

- [HHS OCR: Sample business associate agreement provisions](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/covered-entities/sample-business-associate-agreement-provisions/index.html)
- [HHS OCR: Guidance on Risk Analysis](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/guidance/guidance-risk-analysis/index.html)
- [HealthIT.gov (ONC with HHS OCR): Security Risk Assessment Tool for small and medium providers](https://healthit.gov/privacy-security/security-risk-assessment-tool/)
- [eCFR: 45 CFR 164.504(e), What a business associate agreement must say](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/section-164.504)
- [eMedNY: ETIN information (New York claim submitters)](https://www.emedny.org/info/etin/)
- [Indiana Health Coverage Programs: Electronic Data Interchange module](https://www.in.gov/medicaid/providers/files/modules/electronic-data-interchange.pdf)