Aetna Better Health of Virginia Transportation: MediDrive Rides, Plan Rules, and How to Join

Aetna Better Health of Virginia is one of the five Cardinal Care health plans under contract with the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). In the plan financial results DMAS publishes, it averaged about 247,000 members a month from July 2025 through March 2026, third behind Anthem and Sentara. Aetna does not hand trips to transportation companies. MediDrive, its ride broker since April 1, 2026, does.

Each Cardinal Care plan pays its own broker, and each broker keeps its own network of companies. The DMV certificate, bond, and state driver and vehicle rules that come first are in the Virginia guide.

Who books Aetna Better Health of Virginia rides

Aetna’s member notice VA-26-02-04 says MediDrive replaced Modivcare on April 1, 2026 and now manages every ride the plan covers. Benefits and limits stayed the same, and so did the phone number members already knew: 1-800-734-0430 (TTY 711). Option 1 books a ride. Option 2 is Ride Assist, for a late driver, a change, or a cancellation. Aetna’s member handbook, revised December 15, 2025, lists reservations weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and urgent and same-day trips 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Members can also book at member.medidrive.com or in MediDrive’s member app.

MediDrive’s Virginia provider page, as of September 2026, says its network serves Aetna Medicaid members in all six Cardinal Care regions: Southwest, Roanoke/Alleghany, Western/Charlottesville, Northern/Winchester, Central, and Tidewater. Aetna’s plan for people with both Medicare and Medicaid, which MediDrive calls FIDE, books on its own line, 1-844-452-9375.

The fee-for-service change on October 1, 2026 leaves this alone. DMAS’s bulletin effective September 15, 2026 moves members outside a health plan to MTM Health and says Aetna members who use MediDrive keep using MediDrive. For the fee-for-service side, see MTM Health in Virginia.

Riders whose trips are not Aetna’s

• FAMIS children. The handbook says FAMIS children are not eligible for nonemergency rides. Aetna’s provider manual for July 2026 through June 2027 covers them only for a medically necessary ambulance to or from a covered provider.
• Developmental disability waiver services. The handbook sends rides to waiver services to the fee-for-service contractor at 1-866-386-8331. Aetna still covers these members’ rides to their other medical care.

Aetna’s ride rules and what they mean for your drivers

These rules come from MediDrive’s Virginia member, facility, and resource pages as of September 2026 and from Aetna’s provider manual revised August 2026:

Rule	What it means for your company
Members book at least 3 business days ahead	More lead time than Anthem trips, which book on 2 days, and less than Sentara trips, which book on 5. See advance notice.
Hospital admissions and discharges, dialysis, chemotherapy, radiation, wound care, visits before and after surgery, and transplant care can be booked the same day	Keep a van free for same-day work. MediDrive confirms urgent requests within 3 hours.
Only medical staff can order a hospital discharge ride	Discharge trips come from the hospital through MediDrive’s facility portal or its Facility Department. See hospital discharge transportation.
A standing order covers visits 3 or more days a week for 3 or more months	Dialysis, chemotherapy, and psychosocial rehab routes run on orders the facility sets up with the Facility Department. See NEMT standing orders.
Trip changes need 24 hours’ notice	A change reaches you from MediDrive, not straight from the rider
Children 14 and under ride with an adult, and ages 15 to 17 may ride alone with a consent form on file	Check for the adult or the form before a minor boards. See children in NEMT.
Children 7 and under ride in a booster or car seat the family provides	Look for the seat before you pull away
Out-of-state trips need Aetna’s approval first	A trip across the state line reaches you only after Aetna approves it
A pharmacy ride is covered only when the pharmacy will not deliver or mail, and the prescription should be filled on the way home from the visit	Expect a pharmacy stop on the return leg of a medical trip

MediDrive’s member page says escorts such as a family member, friend, or facility employee ride free when the member says so at booking. A trained attendant from the transportation company comes only when medically necessary. See escorts and caregivers.

Nonmedical trips and family drivers

Medical and pharmacy rides have no limit. On top of them, Aetna lists an added benefit: 15 round trips or 30 one-way trips each calendar year to the grocery store, farmers market, food bank, place of worship, library, gym or exercise class, DMV, WIC, or Social Security office. Aetna’s March 2026 notice on the switch says each trip is limited to 30 miles one way, needs no prior approval, and is open to members 18 or older. Trips taken with Modivcare from January through March 2026 count against the same total.

That count sits below Anthem’s and Sentara’s. Anthem’s member handbook and Sentara’s benefits page each list 24 round trips a year. UnitedHealthcare’s provider manual lists six trips every six months but puts no cap on food bank, farmers market, and WIC rides. See UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Virginia.

Some Aetna trips go to a family car instead of your van. MediDrive pays $0.47 a mile, as of September 2026, to a member, family member, friend, or neighbor who drives the member to a covered visit. The member gets a trip number at least 3 business days before the appointment, the doctor’s office signs the trip log, and the log goes in within 30 days. MediDrive says DMAS rules for Aetna’s provider network set a cap on the miles it pays, by the region of the member’s address and the type of visit:

Member’s area	Primary care, pediatrics, behavioral health, OB/GYN	Specialists and dentists
Urban	Up to 15 miles	Up to 30 miles
Rural	Up to 30 miles	Up to 60 miles
Southwest	Up to 50 miles	Up to 100 miles

See mileage reimbursement.

How your company gets Aetna trips

DMAS’s enrollment sheet, updated July 1, 2025, says transportation companies do not enroll with DMAS for health plan rides. Each plan’s broker enrolls companies, inspects vehicles, negotiates contracts and rates, assigns trips, and pays. That sheet still names Modivcare for Aetna, so apply to MediDrive:

1. Get your DMV authority. DMV’s non-emergency medical transportation carrier certificate, applied for on form OA 151, covers only Medicaid trips, including those a health plan’s contractor such as MediDrive arranges. It takes a $50 filing fee and a $25,000 bond. The Virginia guide covers plates, insurance, and renewals.
2. Apply online. Use MediDrive’s Virginia application at medidrive.com/providers/join/company?state=VA. You send company information and documents through its portal, and once onboarded you see ride requests in its provider portal. MediDrive says its network partners mainly with companies, not independent drivers.
3. Credential every driver. MediDrive lists a current license, OIG and SAM checks, a current drug screen, national criminal and sex offender checks, a motor vehicle report, PASS, wheelchair, and defensive driving training, and First Aid, CPR, and AED. It also lists workers’ compensation.
4. Credential every vehicle. MediDrive asks for general and auto liability coverage, registration, and an inspection. Ask MediDrive in writing for the coverage limits in your contract. DMV’s own floor is $350,000 for a vehicle seating 1 to 6 and $1,500,000 for 7 to 15, driver included.
5. Match its needs. MediDrive says it uses ambulatory sedans and vans and wheelchair accessible vans most.

For how to assemble these files, see NEMT broker credentialing and the MediDrive guide.

What MediDrive expects on every Aetna trip

MediDrive’s Virginia provider page asks you to finish every trip you accept, call dispatch right away if something goes wrong, and report any accident or complaint within 24 hours. It also asks you to arrive inside the scheduled window, because many Aetna riders are headed to dialysis or cancer care.

The same page says MediDrive pays invoiced trips every two weeks and requires no transport exclusivity, so you keep your other brokers. Private-pay riders need a different DMV operating authority, since the NEMT certificate allows Medicaid trips only. A company that wants riders from every Cardinal Care plan needs four broker contracts: MTM Health for Anthem and fee-for-service, Modivcare for Humana and Sentara, MediDrive for Aetna, and SafeRide Health for UnitedHealthcare. See working with multiple NEMT brokers.

What Aetna spends on rides

DMAS’s fiscal 2026 results show Aetna reported $38.8 million in nonemergency transportation costs from July 2025 through March 2026, plus $7.4 million to administer the NEMT benefit. That was about 18 percent of the $215.9 million the five plans reported, third behind Anthem and Sentara. All nine months fall before April 1, 2026, so they cover Modivcare’s last stretch as Aetna’s broker. For how plan money reaches brokers and companies, see contracting with Medicaid health plans.

Who to call

For	Contact
Aetna member rides (MediDrive)	1-800-734-0430 (TTY 711), option 1
Ride Assist: late drivers, changes, cancellations	1-800-734-0430, option 2
Aetna’s Medicare and Medicaid (FIDE) plan rides	1-844-452-9375
Hospital discharges and standing orders	MediDrive Facility Department, 703-372-9832, 24/7
Mileage reimbursement claims	MediDrive claims team, 1-833-633-4374
Joining MediDrive and getting paid	MediDrive provider relations, 703-714-6940, 24/7
MediDrive portal and app support	703-952-3036
Aetna Member Services	1-800-279-1878 (TTY 711), 24/7
Developmental disability waiver rides	1-866-386-8331, the fee-for-service line

What to do first

1. Call 703-714-6940 and ask which regions and vehicle types MediDrive needs for Aetna riders near you.
2. Send the Virginia application with your DMV certificate, insurance certificates, and driver files ready.
3. Visit the dialysis centers and hospitals you serve, and make sure their staff set up Aetna standing orders and discharges with MediDrive’s Facility Department.
4. Sort your riders. Aetna medical rides go through MediDrive, waiver rides go through the fee-for-service line, and FAMIS children get no routine rides.