Wellpoint Tennessee Transportation: Tennessee Carriers Rides, the 60-Mile Rule, and Home Pickups

Wellpoint Tennessee, the TennCare plan formerly called Amerigroup, had 395,463 members in TennCare’s July 2026 enrollment report. TennCare lists its office in Nashville, and it does not contract transportation companies for rides itself. Tennessee Carriers, a Memphis broker, books every Wellpoint ride and sends each trip to a company in its network. Wellpoint’s December 2025 provider manual adds rules on top of TennCare’s that decide which trips reach your vans and where the claim goes. For TennCare’s statewide rules, see the Tennessee state guide.

Who books Wellpoint rides

Members book with Tennessee Carriers at 866-680-0633 or online at portal.tenncarriers.com, at least two business days ahead. Rides after April 30, 2025 can be booked only through that portal or the call center. Hospitals and other facilities book discharges on Tennessee Carriers’ discharge portal at discharges.tenncarriers.com, and Wellpoint’s manual sends every facility discharge through Tennessee Carriers. A member who reschedules or cancels an appointment must also call Tennessee Carriers to cancel the ride.

TennCare’s discharge sheet (revised November 2025) puts Wellpoint’s Medicare Advantage members on the same 866-680-0633 line. By January 1, 2027, a full dual eligible member who wants a Wellpoint Medicare special needs plan must also have Wellpoint as the TennCare plan, TennCare says, so that member’s Medicare and TennCare rides both run through Tennessee Carriers. See dual eligible.

Tennessee Carriers also books UnitedHealthcare Community Plan riders, at 1-866-405-0238. BlueCare and TennCare Select riders book through Verida instead; see BlueCare TennCare transportation.

Where Wellpoint riders live

TennCare’s July 2026 report counts Wellpoint members in each grand region. The share compares Wellpoint with all members of the three regional plans (BlueCare, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, and Wellpoint) there:

Grand region	Wellpoint members	Wellpoint’s share
Middle Tennessee	158,809	32 percent of 494,088
West Tennessee	108,850	30 percent of 364,728
East Tennessee	127,804	27 percent of 466,913
Statewide	395,463	29 percent of all 1,357,979 TennCare members

Middle Tennessee, the region around Nashville, holds 40 percent of Wellpoint’s members, the largest share in any region.

Wellpoint’s own ride rules

Wellpoint’s provider manual lists its rules in the NEMT section. Each one changes what shows up on your manifest:

Wellpoint rule	What it means for your company
Two business days’ notice since July 1, 2025, except urgent trips, provider-initiated changes, and follow-ups that could not be booked ahead	Most trips arrive as planned work, and the exceptions arrive on short notice
Trips over 60 miles, or 90 for some specialists, need a medical reason and approval from TNNEMTOperations@wellpoint.com	A long trip on your manifest was approved first, so never agree to a long trip a rider asks you for directly
Scheduled trips start from the member’s home address	Run the pickup address on the manifest
Out-of-state travel needs Wellpoint precertification, reviewed case by case	An out-of-state trip on your manifest was approved first
Mileage reimbursement follows the same distance rules	Family drivers face the same limits your vans do

The manual gives three examples of long trips it can approve: a complex condition that needs specialty care with no nearby Wellpoint provider, ongoing treatment for a complex condition that keeps the member from moving care closer (a transplant, cancer, or major surgery), and authorized treatment with a specific provider, such as an inpatient psychiatric hospital. It also asks doctors to weigh the distance from the member’s home when they refer. See long-distance medical transport.

The home pickup rule

Wellpoint’s member transportation page says that since July 1, 2025, members can only be picked up at the home address on file, with a one-time exception once a year. Tennessee Carriers tells members that drivers cannot make unplanned stops and will leave if the member is not ready within 5 minutes of the scheduled time. When a rider asks your driver for a pickup somewhere else, send the request to Tennessee Carriers instead of changing the trip yourself. See NEMT dispatch.

Who has no Wellpoint ride benefit

Wellpoint also serves CoverKids, Tennessee’s children’s health insurance program, and its manual lists non-emergency transportation as not covered for CoverKids members. Rides to CHOICES and ECF CHOICES home and community services are outside the NEMT benefit too, as the Tennessee state guide explains.

Mileage reimbursement and bus passes

Some Wellpoint trips go to a family driver or a bus instead of a van. Tennessee Carriers runs both programs:

• Rate. From January 1, 2026, eligible members get up to $0.725 a mile, based on online map mileage from pickup to drop-off and back home.
• One payment per household. Since April 1, 2025, members of one household with appointments on the same day at the same facility are paid for one member only, and Wellpoint’s manual says payment is per household when appointments share a date.
• Booked first. The member books through the call center before the visit, the doctor or nurse signs the trip log at the visit, and the form goes in within 120 days with the driver’s license and insurance card. Tennessee Carriers processes it within 14 days of receipt and can load the money on a pay card.
• Medicare riders. Wellpoint Medicare does not take part in the program.

Tennessee Carriers gives round-trip bus tickets to members who live near a stop on four systems: MATA in Memphis, WeGo in Nashville, CARTA in Chattanooga, and KAT in Knoxville. Members request one at 866-680-0633 or through Wellpoint Member Services at 833-731-2153. See mileage reimbursement.

How to get Wellpoint trips and get paid

Wellpoint’s manual says transporters must have a separate contract with Tennessee Carriers. When Wellpoint receives an NEMT claim for a trip Tennessee Carriers did not coordinate, it denies the claim, and the Explanation of Payment tells the provider to submit it to Tennessee Carriers. So every step runs through the broker:

1. Register with TennCare for a Medicaid ID. No TennCare plan or broker can contract with a company without one; the Tennessee state guide walks through it.
2. Apply to Tennessee Carriers. Fill out its Prospective NEMT Transporter Information Form, attach four screenshots of your TennCare provider file, and email it to NEMTOnboarding@tenncarriers.com. It picks new companies by network needs, capabilities, experience, and location. The Tennessee Carriers guide walks through the form.
3. Ask which plans your agreement covers. The same broker books Wellpoint and UnitedHealthcare riders, so confirm in writing which plans, counties, and levels of service your rates apply to.
4. Bill Tennessee Carriers. Send every Wellpoint trip to Tennessee Carriers, never to Wellpoint. For claim questions, UnitedHealthcare’s 2026 TennCare manual lists billing@tenncarriers.com and 1-901-795-7055.

For why plans in Tennessee route rides this way, see contracting with Medicaid health plans.

Who to call

For	Contact
Wellpoint member rides	Tennessee Carriers, 866-680-0633, or portal.tenncarriers.com
Facility discharges	discharges.tenncarriers.com, or 866-680-0633
Approval for a trip over 60 miles (doctors)	TNNEMTOperations@wellpoint.com
Wellpoint ride concerns	NEMT-RideSupport@wellpoint.com
Tennessee Carriers questions	1-901-795-7055, ext. 8625
Joining Tennessee Carriers	NEMTOnboarding@tenncarriers.com
Claim questions	billing@tenncarriers.com
Wellpoint Member Services	833-731-2153 (TRS 711), weekdays 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central
Wellpoint Provider Services	833-731-2154
UnitedHealthcare member rides	1-866-405-0238