Meridian Illinois Transportation: How MTM Books Meridian and YouthCare Rides

Meridian Health Plan of Illinois is the second largest HealthChoice Illinois plan, with 596,061 members in August 2026. It also runs YouthCare, the plan for youth in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). MTM Health books the rides for both. Transdev handles stretcher and ambulance requests, and those follow different rules.

Who books Meridian rides in Illinois

MTM began coordinating Meridian’s Illinois rides on November 1, 2010, and the HFS subcontractor list for October 2026 still names MTM for Meridian and YouthCare. Members book with the MTM Link Member app, online at mtm.mtmlink.net, or by calling 866-796-1165. The member, the primary care doctor, or a Meridian representative can make the call.

Meridian ride rule	Detail
Booking notice	At least three days before the appointment
Routine booking hours	8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week
Urgent trips and hospital discharges	866-796-1165, 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Next-day appointments	Member and Provider Services, 866-606-3700, as soon as possible
Cancellations	866-796-1165, as soon as the member knows
Trips outside Meridian’s area	Meridian reviews each request before it is scheduled

Meridian’s provider manual of January 2026 says MTM checks each member’s eligibility and assigns the most appropriate and cost-effective way to travel. Besides the member, MTM carries parents or legal guardians of a minor or disabled member, and sometimes other family, such as siblings. Meridian can withhold rides from a member who abuses the service, and abusive behavior toward the transportation provider is one of its examples. Meridian investigates the abuse MTM reports to it, so tell MTM about an incident right away.

Meridian pays for rides to more places than a doctor’s office:

• Behavioral health appointments
• Family Case Management sites
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) offices
• Durable medical equipment vendors
• Prenatal and preventive care, and trips to fill a prescription

Wellcare Meridian Dual Align, Meridian’s plan for members with both Medicare and Medicaid, uses MTM as well. It had 14,180 members in August 2026, and its members reach MTM through Member Services at 844-536-2180.

YouthCare rides

YouthCare serves youth in DCFS care and former youth in care. It had 34,443 members in August 2026, with 8,291 in Cook County, then Peoria (1,610), St. Clair (1,481), and Madison (1,335). Caregivers book through YouthCare Member Services at 844-289-2264 (TTY 711), weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., or the youth’s care coordinator, at least 3 calendar days ahead. The MTM app works too, and same-day or next-day urgent rides go through Member Services.

YouthCare trips go to places most Medicaid rides never do:

• Court-ordered appointments and activities
• Visits with siblings and birth family
• Food pantries and housing appointments
• Activities that support the youth’s cultural or ethnic identity
• Medical and mental health care

Two rules matter at the curb. A youth under 18 cannot ride alone and must be with an adult at least 18 years old, unless the member is pregnant or parenting. A guest may come along when needed. See children in NEMT and escorts and caregivers.

YouthCare picks the mode by distance, accessibility, and cost. It asks whether the youth can step into a vehicle or needs a lift, can walk to the car with little help, or uses a walker, cane, or wheelchair. The options include gas reimbursement, public transportation, rideshare, ADA paratransit, and door-to-door trips when medically necessary.

Gas money and bus tickets

Meridian offers three kinds of rides: a car or van, a bus ticket, or gas reimbursement for a member who drives or gets a ride. Every gas claim is a trip that does not go to a van, so know the rules:

• The payee emails a clear photo of a valid driver’s license and proof of active car insurance to ILGMR@mtm-inc.net.
• The member calls MTM for a trip number on or before the day of the appointment.
• The trip log reaches MTM within 60 days of the first appointment. Any health care professional at the visit can sign it (trip log revised June 28, 2021).

The Illinois plans’ transportation toolkit, updated May 31, 2024, adds more detail for Meridian and YouthCare. A sedan ride or bus ticket needs 72 hours’ notice, routine trips can be booked up to 30 days ahead, and gas money for an emergency room trip can be claimed up to 7 days after. When a member on a bus route asks for a cab, MTM sends a certification form to the member’s provider to fill out. See Medicaid mileage reimbursement.

Stretcher and ambulance trips

Meridian sends members who need a stretcher or an ambulance to Transdev at 877-725-0569, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The member handbook revised August 13, 2026 still uses Transdev’s old name, First Transit. The plans’ toolkit gives providers Transdev’s line, 866-503-9040, for stretcher and ambulance trips for Meridian Medicaid, MLTSS, and YouthCare members.

Ambulance claims for Meridian members go to HFS, not Meridian. HFS took non-emergency ground ambulance out of the HealthChoice Illinois contracts on January 1, 2022, and the ambulance company needs an approval number from Transdev. Stretcher vans sit in between: the plans’ billing manual (version 36.0, June 29, 2026) lists the stretcher van code, T2005, among the non-ambulance codes billed to the plans. If you run a licensed stretcher van, ask MTM and Transdev who approves and who pays a Meridian stretcher trip before you accept one. See Transdev Health Solutions and stretcher vans.

Where Meridian members live

Meridian is the largest HealthChoice Illinois plan in 53 of the state’s 102 counties. Only one of them, Lake, is among Cook and the five collar counties. The rest include Winnebago, Sangamon, St. Clair, Madison, Rock Island, and Tazewell. HFS’s August 2026 report shows Meridian’s biggest counties:

County	Meridian members	Share of the county’s HealthChoice members
Cook	210,104	20 percent
Lake	39,834	41 percent
Will	25,196	27 percent
Kane	22,427	28 percent
Winnebago	21,375	31 percent
St. Clair	21,205	43 percent
DuPage	20,785	20 percent
Madison	17,317	41 percent

For a downstate company, Meridian is often the biggest source of plan riders. In the Metro East counties of St. Clair and Madison, about 4 in 10 plan members are Meridian members.

How to get Meridian and YouthCare trips

1. Enroll with Illinois Medicaid. Every transportation provider that serves plan members enrolls in IMPACT first. The Illinois state guide has the steps, fees, and vehicle plates.
2. Apply to MTM. MTM arranges rides for Meridian, YouthCare, Molina, and Wellcare Meridian Dual Align members, and for Blue Cross Community Health Plans members from October 1, 2026. Ask which of these plans your contract covers. See how to become an MTM provider and MTM in Illinois.
3. Tell MTM what you can run. Name your counties from the table above, your wheelchair vans, and whether your drivers can take YouthCare trips with a minor and an adult escort.
4. Get the forms right. Trips from a member’s home use the HFS 2271 Certificate of Transportation Services, and trips from a hospital or nursing home use the HFS 2270 Physician Certification Statement. The plans’ billing manual sends Meridian’s certification forms to fax 833-728-0122.
5. Drive for the arrival time. Meridian’s manual describes a state-mandated performance project on transportation that tracks the share of trips where the member arrives on time or early. See improving on-time performance.

MTM sets your rates in its contract. Ambulance companies take a different path: enroll with HFS for ambulance service and request approvals from Transdev. If you already drive for Modivcare, see working with several brokers.

Who to call

For	Contact
Meridian rides	MTM Health, 866-796-1165
YouthCare rides	YouthCare Member Services, 844-289-2264 (TTY 711)
Meridian benefits	Member Services, 866-606-3700 (TTY 711), weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Gas reimbursement documents	ILGMR@mtm-inc.net
Stretcher and ambulance, members	Transdev, 877-725-0569
Stretcher and ambulance, providers	Transdev, 866-503-9040
Physician Certification Statements	Meridian fax, 833-728-0122