Anthem HealthKeepers Plus Transportation: MTM Rides, Plan Rules, and Nonmedical Trips in Virginia

Anthem HealthKeepers Plus is the Cardinal Care health plan run by HealthKeepers, Inc. under its contract with the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). In the plan financial results DMAS publishes, it averaged about 529,000 members a month from July 2025 through March 2026, about a third of everyone in a Cardinal Care plan and slightly more than Sentara, the next largest. Anthem does not hand trips to transportation companies itself. Its broker, Access2Care, does, and Access2Care has belonged to MTM Health since October 2024.

Virginia pays each Cardinal Care plan a monthly rate per member, and each plan hires its own ride broker. The DMV certificate, bond, and state driver and vehicle rules every Virginia company needs are in the Virginia guide.

Who books Anthem HealthKeepers Plus rides

Members book at 877-892-3988 (TTY 711), weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the reservation hours in Anthem’s member handbook effective July 1, 2025 and its provider manual effective July 1, 2026. Option 2 on the same line is Cardinal Care Medicaid Ride Assist, for changing or cancelling a ride or reporting a driver who is more than 15 minutes late. The provider manual also lets a doctor’s office call to book a ride for a member.

Anthem’s member pages still say Access2Care as of September 2026. MTM bought Access2Care from Global Medical Response in October 2024, and access2care.net now opens MTM’s website. DMAS’s bulletin effective September 15, 2026 says Anthem members who use MTM keep using MTM, and MTM takes over fee-for-service rides with trips on October 1, 2026. From that date one broker holds both programs, each with its own phone line and rules.

Not every Anthem ride goes to a van. The provider manual says the mode depends on the member’s location and condition, and lists public transit, volunteer drivers, gas reimbursement, car, van, or taxi, wheelchair vans, and stretcher vans, including nonemergency ambulance.

Children in foster care ride as Anthem members

Since July 1, 2025, HealthKeepers, Inc. has run Virginia’s single statewide Foster Care Specialty Plan, an addendum to its Cardinal Care contract. It covers children and youth in foster care under 21, youth 21 and under receiving adoption assistance, and former foster youth under 26. Anthem’s foster care page says foster youth 18 and under are enrolled automatically, so their medical rides run through Access2Care. Anthem always lets an adult escort a child, and a child under 8 rides only in a car seat or booster the family brings. See children in NEMT.

Riders whose trips are not Anthem’s

• FAMIS children. Anthem’s transportation page says medical rides are not a FAMIS benefit unless the child needs a medically necessary ambulance, and the handbook says FAMIS children are not eligible for NEMT.
• Developmental disability waiver services. The handbook sends rides to waiver services such as day support, supported employment, community engagement and coaching, peer mentoring, and workplace assistance to the fee-for-service contractor at 866-386-8331. Anthem’s transportation page still names Modivcare for those rides, but that contract moves to MTM for trips from October 1, 2026, and day support facilities keep scheduling their own standing rides. See MTM Health in Virginia.

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

Anthem’s transportation page and handbook set rules that shape each trip on your manifest:

Anthem rule	What it means for your company
Book at least 2 business days before the appointment	Anthem trips can reach you with less lead time than fee-for-service trips
The driver may arrive 15 minutes before or after the pickup time, and the member waits at or near the entrance	Arrive inside that 30-minute window and look for the rider out front. See pickup window.
Drivers have up to one hour to pick up a member for the return trip, once the member calls Access2Care	Keep a vehicle free for will-call returns
Drivers help members in and out of the vehicle but are not allowed inside a home or medical office	Your drivers help at the vehicle and stay out of the home and the office. See curb-to-curb.
A child under 8 needs a car seat or booster the family brings	Check for the seat before the child boards
One escort, 18 or older, rides when there is room and it is medically needed	Leave a seat for the escort Access2Care puts on the trip. See escorts and caregivers.
Recurring dialysis, substance use treatment, and adult day care rides need a form from the medical provider, approved three months at a time	Standing Anthem work comes up for renewal every three months

The three-month approval matters most for dialysis routes. Each form covers three months, so ask the centers you serve when each Anthem form renews. See NEMT standing orders and dialysis transportation.

Anthem trips next to fee-for-service trips at MTM

If you drive both programs for MTM, the rules differ:

Rule	Anthem HealthKeepers Plus	Fee-for-service, from October 1, 2026
Member line	877-892-3988	866-386-8331
Booking notice	2 business days	5 business days, unless urgent
Return pickup	Up to one hour	Within 45 minutes of the call
Standing rides	Approved 3 months at a time	Booked up to 6 months at a time
Written rules	Anthem’s member handbook and transportation page	MTM’s Virginia FFS provider handbook, approved August 10, 2026

MTM’s Virginia handbook covers fee-for-service only, so ask your MTM representative for the Anthem rules that apply to your contract.

Nonmedical trips and mileage reimbursement

Anthem’s member handbook, effective July 1, 2025, covers community rides for all members: 2 round trips or 4 one-way trips a month, 24 round trips a year. The places it lists are grocery stores, food banks, job interviews, places of worship, support groups, and government offices such as social services, the DMV, the post office, and Social Security. Trips run weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., within 30 miles round trip in a city or 60 miles in a rural area.

Anthem describes this benefit in more than one way:

Anthem document	Nonmedical rides it lists
Member handbook, effective July 1, 2025	24 round trips a year to the places above, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Transportation page, as of September 2026	Up to 3 round trips every 3 months to grocery stores, farmers markets, and food banks, seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Provider manual, effective July 1, 2026	24 nonmedical trips a year to grocery stores, food banks, and farmers markets

Every version caps the distance at 30 miles in a city and 60 in a rural area, so these are short daytime trips. Ask MTM which limit it applies before you count on them.

Some Anthem rides go to a family car instead of your van. Access2Care pays members, family, friends, and caregivers for miles driven in a personal car. The member calls at least five business days before the appointment, the form arrives by mail or fax, and the medical provider signs it to confirm the visit. The handbook adds that the driver’s name, date of birth, and mailing address are required. See mileage reimbursement.

How to get Anthem HealthKeepers Plus trips

DMAS’s enrollment sheet, updated July 1, 2025, says each plan’s broker enrolls providers, trains drivers, inspects vehicles, negotiates rates, assigns trips, and pays providers, and that members may ask for a provider by name without the broker having to assign it. So every step runs through MTM:

1. Get your DMV authority. A non-emergency medical transportation carrier certificate covers rides arranged by a Cardinal Care plan’s broker. The Virginia guide lists the forms, the $25,000 bond, and the plates.
2. Apply to MTM. Send the questionnaire on MTM’s Join Our Network page. A network representative then walks you through the interview, contract, credentialing, and training. MTM’s Virginia provider hotline, 866-810-8302, answers 24/7.
3. Ask for Anthem in your agreement. Ask in writing whether your contract covers Anthem HealthKeepers Plus trips, fee-for-service trips, or both, and in which counties and levels of service.
4. Keep credentials current. MTM’s network page says its system will not assign trips to a provider whose credentials are not current. Its Virginia training and document lists are on the MTM Health in Virginia page.

What Anthem spends on rides

In DMAS’s fiscal 2026 plan financial results, Anthem reported $84.6 million in nonemergency transportation costs from July 2025 through March 2026, plus $16.7 million to administer the NEMT benefit. That was the most of the five plans, ahead of Sentara at $50.7 million, and about 39 percent of the $215.9 million all five plans reported. For how plans and brokers split this money, see contracting with Medicaid health plans.

Who to call

For	Contact
Anthem member rides (Access2Care)	877-892-3988 (TTY 711), weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Ride Assist: changes, cancellations, late drivers	877-892-3988, option 2
Anthem Member Services and care coordinators	800-901-0020 (TTY 711)
Developmental disability waiver rides	866-386-8331, the fee-for-service line, run by MTM from October 1, 2026
Joining MTM’s network	The Join Our Network questionnaire at mtm-inc.net
MTM Virginia provider hotline	866-810-8302, 24/7

What to do first

1. Call 866-810-8302 and ask whether MTM needs Anthem HealthKeepers Plus providers in your counties and at your level of service.
2. Send MTM’s questionnaire with your DMV authority, NPI, and insurance certificates ready.
3. List the dialysis and adult day care centers you serve with Anthem members, and note when each three-month transportation form renews.
4. Sort your riders. Anthem medical rides go through Access2Care, waiver day support rides go through the fee-for-service line, and FAMIS children get no routine rides.