# MedStar Family Choice DC Transportation: The MTM Ride Line, Booking Notice, and the Wellpoint Switch

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/medstar-family-choice-dc/ · Updated 2026-10-06

MedStar Family Choice DC members book free rides 24 hours a day at 866-201-9974, a line MedStar's pages credit to Access2Care and its spring 2026 newsletter to MTM Health, which bought Access2Care in 2024. Routine rides need three business days of notice, and urgent, well-child, and dental screening visits need one. Transportation companies get these trips by joining MTM's network in DC.

- Every MedStar Family Choice DC ride is booked on one line, 866-201-9974, which the plan's newest newsletter credits to MTM Health and its benefits page still credits to Access2Care.
- Well-child, dental screening, and urgent visits can be booked one business day ahead, so expect short-notice trips for children.
- MedStar also provides rides to most services DHCF covers outside the plan and to community behavioral health programs such as clubhouses.
- Former Wellpoint DC members can move to MedStar until January 31, 2027, and their rides then come through MTM.
- MTM also brokers DC fee-for-service rides through December 31, 2026, so ask whether one MTM agreement can cover both programs.

## MedStar Family Choice DC rides at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Ride line | 866-201-9974, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at no cost to enrollees |
| Ride vendor | MTM Health, per the spring 2026 enrollee newsletter. The benefits page (current as of August 24, 2026) and the October 2025 provider manual still say Access2Care, which MTM bought in October 2024. |
| Routine notice | Three business days, not counting Saturday and Sunday |
| Short notice | One business day for urgent visits, well-child (EPSDT) visits, and dental screenings |
| Day before the ride | MedStar's undated ride flyer says the driver calls 24 hours before the appointment to confirm the pickup time, and the enrollee is ready an hour before the appointment |
| Ride types | Bus and Metro, SmarTrip cards, rideshare vouchers, taxis, wheelchair vans, and ambulances, by medical need |
| Members | 56,726 in December 2025, and a preliminary 51,605 for January 2026, a month when DC lowered the income limit for some adults (DHCF enrollment report, February 2026) |
| Wellpoint change | Wellpoint DC members moved to AmeriHealth Caritas DC on August 1, 2026, and may choose MedStar instead until January 31, 2027 (DHCF Transmittal 26-19) |
| How to join | A WMATC certificate of authority, which DC requires for paid trips, DC Medicaid enrollment as the DC guide advises, then MTM Health's network application |
| Provider Relations | MFCDC-ProviderRelations@MedStar.net, 800-261-3371 (DHCF Transmittal 26-19, July 2, 2026) |

MedStar Family Choice District of Columbia is one of the two health plans in DC Healthy Families, the District's Medicaid managed care program, alongside AmeriHealth Caritas DC. DHCF's enrollment report of February 2026 counted 56,726 MedStar enrollees in December 2025 and a preliminary 51,605 for January 2026, when DC lowered the income limit for some adults. Fee-for-service members ride through the broker DHCF hires instead, and the [DC guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/district-of-columbia/) explains that program, WMATC licensing, and Medicaid enrollment.

## Who books MedStar Family Choice rides

Enrollees book every ride on one line, 866-201-9974, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rides cost the enrollee nothing. Doctors' offices call the same number to arrange a ride for a MedStar patient, under section G of the October 2025 provider manual.

MedStar's own documents name the company behind that line two ways:

- **Access2Care.** MedStar's general benefits page, current as of August 24, 2026, its October 2025 provider manual, and its ride flyer all say Access2Care provides the rides.
- **MTM.** Its spring 2026 enrollee newsletter tells enrollees to call MTM at the same number.

Both point to one company. MTM Health announced the close of its purchase of Access2Care on October 8, 2024. Its notice to former Access2Care members says the phone number stays the same and MTM keeps working with the same transportation providers. So the network you join for MedStar trips is MTM's; see the [MTM Health page](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/mtm-health/) for how MTM works with companies nationally.

### The Alliance line on the old flyer

MedStar's ride flyer still says the benefit covers DC Healthcare Alliance enrollees. That changed on October 1, 2025, when the Alliance moved from health plans to fee-for-service and stopped covering non-emergency rides. DHCF's letter of September 10, 2026 keeps those rides off the adult Alliance benefit list through September 30, 2027. If a trip shows an Alliance member, it is not a MedStar ride; see [the Alliance change](https://nemtguide.com/news/dc-alliance-nemt-ends/).

## Booking notice and the call before the ride

MedStar's benefits page sets two notice rules:

- **Regular appointments:** at least three business days ahead. The 2026 handbook adds that Saturday and Sunday do not count.
- **Urgent visits, well-child (EPSDT) visits, and dental screenings:** at least one business day ahead.

The provider manual asks doctors' offices for the same notice: three business days for appointments other than EPSDT visits, and the day before for urgent and EPSDT visits. That short window for children's checkups means MedStar trips can land on your board a day out. See [EPSDT](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/epsdt/) for what those visits are.

When enrollees call, the flyer tells them to have their name, plan ID, date of birth, phone and cell number, pickup address, the appointment's date, time, and address, the provider's name, and any equipment they use, such as a wheelchair or walker. The flyer says the vendor has different vehicles for different needs, so that equipment note shapes which vehicle gets the trip.

### The 24-hour confirmation call

The undated flyer promises each enrollee a call from the driver 24 hours before the appointment to confirm the exact pickup time. It also asks enrollees to be ready at least an hour before the appointment so they arrive on time. If you carry MedStar trips, ask MTM in writing whether that call is your dispatcher's job or MTM's, because a missed call is a promise the plan made to its enrollee.

## Ride types and where MedStar rides go

The provider manual lists public transportation, SmarTrip cards, wheelchair vans, and ambulances, and the 2026 handbook adds buses, Metro, rideshare vouchers, and taxis. The type each enrollee gets depends on medical need, so an enrollee with a rideshare voucher or a SmarTrip card never reaches your van; see [NEMT vs rideshare](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-vs-rideshare/).

MedStar's rides reach further than its own covered services:

- **Services DHCF covers outside the plan.** The 2026 handbook says MedStar provides rides to and from most services that DHCF or other District agencies cover instead of MedStar.
- **Community behavioral health.** The provider manual lists transportation, with care coordination and case management, for enrollees getting Department of Behavioral Health services: community-based interventions, multisystemic therapy, assertive community treatment, community support, recovery support, supported employment, and clubhouse services. See [behavioral health transportation](https://nemtguide.com/guides/behavioral-health-transportation/).
- **Health classes.** MedStar offers transportation to enrollees who attend its free health education classes.

The manual also says MedStar delegates quality improvement work to its transportation vendor, which submits a quality improvement plan, a utilization management plan, a work plan, and yearly appraisals to the plan.

## The Wellpoint change and who rides with MedStar

On August 1, 2026, DHCF moved every Wellpoint DC (formerly Amerigroup DC) enrollee to AmeriHealth Caritas DC. Wellpoint had 54,554 enrollees in December 2025, close to MedStar's 56,726. Under DHCF Transmittal 26-19 of July 2, 2026, those enrollees have until January 31, 2027 to choose MedStar instead. From August 1 through October 31, 2026, both remaining plans honor prior authorizations issued before August 1.

For a ride company, that means riders you once drove under Wellpoint now book through AmeriHealth Caritas DC's transportation line, unless they switch. Those who move to MedStar book on 866-201-9974, and their trips come through MTM. The [AmeriHealth Caritas DC page](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/amerihealth-caritas-dc/) covers that plan's rides.

## How a transportation company gets MedStar trips

MedStar's rides run through its transportation vendor, so the path runs through MTM:

1. **Get your WMATC certificate of authority and enroll with DC Medicaid.** DC requires the certificate for paid trips, and the [DC guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/district-of-columbia/) walks through both steps, along with DC business licensing. Ask MTM whether MedStar trips require the Medicaid enrollment too.
2. **Apply on MTM Health's Join Our Network page.** MTM says it answers quickly where it needs providers and keeps your file where it does not. Name the vehicle types you run, especially wheelchair vans, and whether you can take one-business-day trips.
3. **Ask about fee-for-service work too.** MTM also brokers DHCF's fee-for-service and IDD waiver rides through December 31, 2026, under an extension while a protest holds up Verida's new contract; see [the MTM extension](https://nemtguide.com/news/dc-mtm-contract-extension/). Ask MTM whether your agreement covers both programs.
4. **Keep MedStar's contacts for plan questions.** DHCF's transmittal lists MedStar Provider Relations at 800-261-3371 and MFCDC-ProviderRelations@MedStar.net for providers who want to join MedStar's network.

HSCSN, DC's plan for children and young adults who receive or qualify for SSI, uses Verida instead; see [Verida in DC](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/verida/district-of-columbia/). A company can hold agreements with more than one broker, and [working with several brokers](https://nemtguide.com/guides/multiple-nemt-brokers/) covers how to run them side by side.

## Who to call

Enrollees call the ride line, while a transportation company applies to MTM and takes plan questions to MedStar Provider Relations.

| For | Contact |
|---|---|
| An enrollee's ride | 866-201-9974, 24 hours a day |
| Enrollee questions | MedStar Enrollee Services, 888-404-3549 |
| Plan provider questions | MedStar Provider Relations, 800-261-3371 |
| Joining the ride network | MTM Health, Join Our Network page |

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the MedStar Family Choice transportation phone number?

Enrollees call 866-201-9974 to book, change, or cancel a ride, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at no cost. Doctors' offices can call the same number to arrange rides for their MedStar patients. For other questions, MedStar Family Choice DC Enrollee Services answers at 888-404-3549, also around the clock.

### Does MedStar Family Choice DC use Access2Care or MTM?

Both names lead to the same company. MedStar's benefits page, current as of August 24, 2026, and its October 2025 provider manual say Access2Care provides the rides. Its spring 2026 enrollee newsletter tells enrollees to call MTM at the same number. MTM Health announced the close of its Access2Care purchase on October 8, 2024, and tells former Access2Care members that the phone number stays the same and that it keeps working with the same transportation providers.

### How far in advance do MedStar Family Choice members book rides?

At least three business days, not counting Saturday and Sunday, for a regular appointment. Urgent visits, well-child (EPSDT) visits, and dental screenings need one business day. The provider manual asks doctors' offices for the same notice when they book for a patient. MedStar's undated ride flyer adds that the driver calls 24 hours before the appointment to confirm the pickup time.

### Can Wellpoint DC members switch to MedStar Family Choice?

Yes. DHCF moved Wellpoint DC enrollees to AmeriHealth Caritas DC on August 1, 2026, and they have until January 31, 2027 to choose MedStar instead. During the transition period from August 1 to October 31, 2026, both plans honor prior authorizations issued before August 1. A rider who switches to MedStar books rides through 866-201-9974.

### Does MedStar Family Choice cover rides for DC Healthcare Alliance members?

No longer. MedStar's ride flyer still names the DC Healthcare Alliance, but on October 1, 2025 the Alliance moved from managed care plans to fee-for-service and stopped covering non-emergency rides. DHCF's letter of September 10, 2026 keeps those rides off the adult Alliance benefit list through September 30, 2027. Rides for DC Healthy Families enrollees in MedStar continue.

### How do I become a transportation provider for MedStar Family Choice DC?

Apply to MTM Health, the company MedStar's newest newsletter names for its rides, on its Join Our Network page. Before that, get a certificate of authority from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission, which DC requires for paid trips, and enroll with DC Medicaid, as the DC state guide explains. MedStar Provider Relations, at 800-261-3371 or MFCDC-ProviderRelations@MedStar.net, answers plan questions.

## Official resources

- [MedStar Family Choice DC: Transportation and other enrollee benefits](https://www.medstarfamilychoicedc.com/enrollees/general-benefits)
- [MedStar Family Choice DC: Provider manual](https://www.medstarfamilychoicedc.com/providers/provider-resources/provider-manual)
- [MTM Health: Join the transportation provider network](https://www.mtm-inc.net/service-providers/)
- [DHCF: Managed Care Plan Transition](https://dhcf.dc.gov/page/managed-care-plan-transition)