# UPMC for You Transportation: When UPMC Medical Transportation Books the Ride

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/upmc-for-you-pennsylvania/ · Updated 2026-09-30

UPMC for You transportation runs two ways. Routine rides to Medical Assistance appointments go through the member's county MATP office, which needs 24 to 72 hours' notice. Medically necessary ground ambulance, air ambulance, and wheelchair van trips are coordinated through UPMC Medical Transportation at 1-877-521-7433, except that providers in the Lehigh/Capital zone do not need to call it, per the manual updated December 31, 2025.

- UPMC for You coordinates its own medically necessary wheelchair van and ambulance trips through UPMC Medical Transportation, at 1-877-521-RIDE (7433).
- The rule stops at the Lehigh/Capital zone: providers in those 13 counties do not need to call UPMC Medical Transportation.
- Routine rides still run through county MATP programs, which need 24 to 72 hours' notice.
- The free fixed-route bus passes UPMC for You offered in 2025 are gone from its 2026 manual.
- To get UPMC trips directly, hold a PROMISe ID for each location and send UPMC Health Plan's ancillary provider request.

## UPMC for You rides at a glance

| Fact | Details |
| --- | --- |
| Where | All five HealthChoices zones and all 67 counties. It is one of three physical health plans offered in every zone, per the DHS Statewide MCO Map (September 2026). |
| Routine rides | County MATP, with 24 to 72 hours' notice, for trips to Medical Assistance appointments and pharmacies |
| UPMC Medical Transportation | 1-877-521-RIDE (7433), for medically necessary ground ambulance, wheelchair van, and air ambulance trips (manual updated December 31, 2025) |
| Lehigh/Capital exception | UPMC for You providers in the 13 Lehigh/Capital zone counties do not need to call UPMC Medical Transportation |
| Member ride questions | UPMC for You Transportation Request Line, 1-833-267-7312 (TTY 711), weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (2026 member handbook) |
| Unusual ride needs | Enhanced Member Services Unit, 1-866-463-1462 (TTY 711), weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Approval and copay | Non-emergency medical transport needs prior authorization and has no copay. Emergency ambulance needs no prior authorization (2026 member handbook). |
| Bus passes | Ended. The April 2025 manual offered free fixed-route passes in three zones, and the 2026 manual does not. |
| Provider ID | Every provider serving UPMC for You members needs a Pennsylvania PROMISe ID for each service location |
| How to join | Send UPMC Health Plan's ancillary provider request, which lists Ambulance and Transportation Services. It says to allow up to 10 business days for a response. |

UPMC for You is the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) plan of UPMC Health Plan, and it is one of only three physical health plans the state offers in all five HealthChoices zones, so it is offered in every Pennsylvania county. Like the others, it leaves routine rides to county MATP programs, which the [Pennsylvania guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/) explains. What is particular to UPMC for You is its own coordination line, UPMC Medical Transportation. Providers outside the Lehigh/Capital zone must coordinate medically necessary ambulance and wheelchair van trips through it.

## Who arranges each UPMC for You ride

UPMC for You's provider manual, Chapter E, updated December 31, 2025, splits rides this way. The revised copy the plan posts on its manual page (12-31-25r) carries the same text.

| Ride | Who arranges it | Line or notice |
|---|---|---|
| Routine ride to a Medical Assistance appointment or pharmacy | The member's county MATP office | 24 to 72 hours' notice |
| Medically necessary ground ambulance | UPMC Medical Transportation | 1-877-521-RIDE (7433) |
| Medically necessary wheelchair van | UPMC Medical Transportation | 1-877-521-RIDE (7433) |
| Air ambulance | UPMC Medical Transportation, after program exception approval | 1-877-521-RIDE (7433) |
| Emergency ambulance | 911 or the local ambulance service | No prior authorization |
| An unusual ride need caused by a medical condition | Enhanced Member Services Unit | 1-866-463-1462, weekdays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. |

UPMC Medical Transportation takes requests from providers, such as doctors' offices and hospitals. Members get a different number in the 2026 member handbook: the UPMC for You Transportation Request Line, 1-833-267-7312 (TTY 711), weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The same handbook's benefits table marks non-emergency medical transport as needing prior authorization, with no referral and no copay, and Chapter E's 2026 copayment schedule charges adults $0 per ambulance trip.

### Transfers between hospitals

UPMC Health Plan's Chapter B, updated March 4, 2025, adds a rule for hospital transfers. When a member moves from one network hospital to another, the transferring provider calls UPMC Medical Transportation to arrange any type of transportation. Urgent and routine transfer trips must go to a network ambulance service, and the Lehigh/Capital exception repeats there. UPMC for Life, the company's Medicare plan, routes its medically necessary ambulance and wheelchair van trips through the same line (Chapter F, updated November 25, 2024).

## Where the UPMC Medical Transportation rule applies

The manual says UPMC for You providers in the Lehigh/Capital zone do not need to call UPMC Medical Transportation. It does not say who arranges those trips instead. Everywhere else, the line applies.

| Zone | Counties | Call UPMC Medical Transportation? |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest | 14, including [Allegheny](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/), [Westmoreland](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/westmoreland-county/), [Washington](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/washington-county/), and [Butler](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/butler-county/) | Yes |
| Northwest | 13, including [Erie](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/erie-county/), [Crawford](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/crawford-county/), and [Mercer](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/mercer-county/) | Yes |
| Northeast | 22, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Centre, and Lycoming | Yes |
| Southeast | 5: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and [Philadelphia](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/philadelphia-county/) | Yes |
| Lehigh/Capital | 13: Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton, Perry, and York | No |

In the Southwest and Northwest, UPMC for You shares its zone with AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania, Geisinger Health Plan, and Jefferson Health Plans EverWell, and in the Southwest with Highmark Wholecare too, per the DHS map in September 2026. In the Southeast, [Keystone First](https://nemtguide.com/health-plans/keystone-first-pennsylvania/) sends every wheelchair van trip to MATP, so in those five counties a medically necessary wheelchair trip is booked through MATP for a Keystone First member and through UPMC Medical Transportation for a UPMC for You member. In [Lehigh](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/), [Dauphin](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/dauphin-county/), [Lancaster](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/), [Berks](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/berks-county/), and [York](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/york-county/) counties, ask UPMC for You Provider Services who books these trips before you plan around them.

## What UPMC for You members are told about rides

The 2026 handbook tells members that UPMC for You pays for non-emergency rides only for nursing home residents and for specialized trips such as a stretcher, plus emergency and non-emergency ambulance, and that MATP handles the rest. A trip neither MATP nor UPMC for You can give goes to the County Assistance Office for a Medical Transportation Allowance.

### The bus passes that ended

The 2025 manual, updated April 3, 2025, offered free fixed-route public transit to UPMC for You members in the Lehigh/Capital, Northeast, and Southeast zones, as single-trip or monthly passes, for trips that were not medical. The 2026 manual drops that paragraph, and the plan's additional benefits page listed no ride benefit in September 2026. Those were bus passes, so their end takes no van work away. It does mean UPMC for You no longer lists any benefit for rides that are not medical.

## How a transportation company gets UPMC for You trips

1. **Hold Public Utility Commission authority.** Paratransit authority covers wheelchair and stretcher vans. The [Pennsylvania guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/pennsylvania/) covers the application.
2. **Get a PROMISe ID for each location.** UPMC Health Plan's Chapter B says every provider serving UPMC for You members needs a valid PROMISe ID, the state's Medical Assistance provider number, for each service location, revalidated at least every five years. A claim denied for a missing ID cannot be billed to the member. The DHS Provider Enrollment Hotline is 1-800-537-8862, option 2, then option 4, then option 2.
3. **Send UPMC Health Plan's ancillary provider request.** On the Join Our Provider Network page, choose Ancillary Providers. The form lists Ambulance and Transportation Services as specialties and asks for your NPI. UPMC says the form is a request to participate, not the credentialing application, and to allow up to 10 business days for a response.
4. **Ask which trips and zones it needs.** UPMC for You Provider Services is 1-866-918-1595, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since Chapter B sends hospital transfers to network ambulance services, ask plainly whether UPMC Medical Transportation uses wheelchair van companies in your counties. See [contracting with Medicaid health plans](https://nemtguide.com/guides/contract-with-medicaid-health-plans/) for what to bring to that call.
5. **Contract with your county MATP program too.** Routine UPMC for You rides still come through MATP, and each county page above explains how that county buys rides.
6. **Meet hospital discharge planners** in the four zones where UPMC Medical Transportation applies, since hospitals are among the providers calling it. See [hospital discharge transportation](https://nemtguide.com/guides/hospital-discharge-transportation/).

If you are starting with wheelchair vans, [starting a wheelchair transportation business](https://nemtguide.com/guides/start-a-wheelchair-transportation-business/) covers the vehicles and training.

## UPMC Community HealthChoices is a separate plan

UPMC Community HealthChoices covers dual eligible adults 21 and older and adults who need nursing-facility-level care, and its manual, Chapter N, updated August 11, 2026, handles rides differently. Participants use MATP, with 24 to 72 hours' notice, and its Health Care Concierge team helps book at 1-844-833-0523, 24 hours a day. Ambulance and stretcher trips are coordinated first with the participant's Medicare plan, then by the Service Coordinator at 1-833-280-8508. Nursing facilities arrange and pay for residents' rides, and non-medical rides are covered only when the participant's service plan lists them.

## Who to call

| For | Contact (as of September 2026) |
|---|---|
| Medically necessary ambulance or wheelchair van trip (providers) | UPMC Medical Transportation, 1-877-521-RIDE (7433) |
| Member ride questions | UPMC for You Transportation Request Line, 1-833-267-7312 (TTY 711) |
| Unusual ride needs | Enhanced Member Services Unit, 1-866-463-1462 |
| UPMC for You Provider Services | 1-866-918-1595, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| UPMC for You members | Health Care Concierge team, 1-800-286-4242 (TTY 711) |
| PROMISe enrollment | DHS Provider Enrollment Hotline, 1-800-537-8862 |
| Routine rides | The member's county MATP office |

## What to do first

1. **Find your zone** in the table above, since it decides whether UPMC Medical Transportation books these trips near you.
2. **Get your PROMISe ID** for each location you run from.
3. **Send UPMC Health Plan's ancillary provider request** and follow up with Provider Services after 10 business days.
4. **Sign up with your county's MATP program** so routine UPMC for You rides reach you too.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the UPMC for You transportation phone number?

Members with questions about non-emergency rides call the UPMC for You Transportation Request Line at 1-833-267-7312 (TTY 711), weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., per the 2026 handbook. Doctors and hospitals arranging a medically necessary ambulance or wheelchair van trip call UPMC Medical Transportation at 1-877-521-RIDE (7433). Routine rides go through the county MATP office, and the Health Care Concierge team is 1-800-286-4242.

### What is UPMC Medical Transportation?

It is the line UPMC Health Plan uses to coordinate medically necessary non-emergency trips. The UPMC for You manual updated December 31, 2025 routes ground ambulance, air ambulance, and wheelchair van trips through it at 1-877-521-RIDE (7433). UPMC Health Plan's transfer rules in Chapter B (March 2025) have providers call it for any transfer between network hospitals and say those trips go to a network ambulance service.

### Do Lehigh/Capital zone providers call UPMC Medical Transportation?

No. Chapter E says UPMC for You providers located in the 13 Lehigh/Capital counties do not need to call it: Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Northampton, Perry, and York. It does not say who arranges those trips instead. If you run vans there, ask UPMC for You Provider Services at 1-866-918-1595 who books them in your county.

### How do I become a UPMC for You transportation provider?

Hold Public Utility Commission authority and a Pennsylvania PROMISe ID for each service location. Then send the ancillary provider request on UPMC Health Plan's Join Our Provider Network page, choosing Transportation Services or Ambulance as the specialty. UPMC says the request is not the credentialing application and to allow up to 10 business days for a reply. For routine rides, also contract with your county's MATP program.

### Does UPMC for You still give free bus passes?

Not according to its current manual. The April 3, 2025 edition offered free fixed-route transit, single trips or monthly passes, to members in the Lehigh/Capital, Northeast, and Southeast zones, for trips that were not medical. The edition updated December 31, 2025 drops that paragraph, and UPMC for You's additional benefits page listed no ride benefit in September 2026. MATP still gives bus passes for medical trips.

### Is UPMC Community HealthChoices transportation the same?

No. UPMC Community HealthChoices is a separate plan. Its manual updated August 11, 2026 sends non-emergency rides to MATP and coordinates ambulance and stretcher trips first with the participant's Medicare plan, then through the Service Coordinator at 1-833-280-8508. Nursing facilities arrange and pay for their residents' rides, and non-medical rides are covered only when the participant's service plan includes them.

## Official resources

- [UPMC Health Plan: UPMC for You provider manual, Chapter E (2026)](https://upmc.widen.net/s/qrbwmqdc9j/providermanual_e2-2026_web)
- [UPMC Health Plan: Join Our Provider Network](https://www.upmchealthplan.com/providers/medical/join-us)
- [UPMC Health Plan: Provider manual chapters](https://www.upmchealthplan.com/providers/medical/resources/manuals/provider-manual)
- [UPMC for You: 2026 Member Handbook](https://upmc.widen.net/view/pdf/eomex4vmsu/UPMC_Member_Handbook.pdf)
- [Pennsylvania DHS: Statewide MCO Map](https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/medicaid/statewide-mco-map)