Blue Cross NC Drops SafeRide Rides From Blue Medicare Plans on January 1, 2027

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) stops covering routine rides in its Blue Medicare plans on January 1, 2027. The 2027 Annual Notice of Change for Blue Medicare Enhanced (HMO-POS) lists Transportation Services as “Not covered.” In 2026 the plan covers “12 one-way trips to covered health-related locations” through SafeRide. The 2027 notice for Blue Medicare Freedom+ (PPO) makes the same change. Members can pick a different plan for 2027 until December 7, 2026.

Which Blue Medicare plans lose rides

CMS’s 2027 plan benefit files, dated October 1, 2026, show the ride benefit gone from 11 Blue Medicare plan options in five plans. CMS counted 167,224 members in these plans in October 2026:

• Blue Medicare Essential Plus (HMO-POS): 100,795 members.
• Blue Medicare PPO Enhanced (PPO): 33,118 members.
• Blue Medicare Enhanced (HMO-POS): 25,275 members.
• Blue Medicare Medical Only (HMO-POS): 6,770 members.
• Blue Medicare Freedom+ (PPO): 1,266 members.

Each plan pays for 12 one-way trips a year in 2026 at no cost to the member. The 2026 Evidence of Coverage for Blue Medicare Enhanced says SafeRide Health arranges the rides by taxi, rideshare, van, or non-emergency medical transport, only within North Carolina. The 2027 Evidence of Coverage lists no ride benefit, though ambulance coverage stays.

Who keeps plan rides

Of the 12 Blue Cross NC plan options sold to individuals that list a ride benefit for 2026, only one keeps it for 2027. That is Healthy Blue + Medicare (HMO-POS D-SNP), the plan for people with both Medicare and Medicaid. Its 2027 Evidence of Coverage keeps 48 one-way trips a year through SafeRide, and CMS lists it in all 100 North Carolina counties.

Riders with full NC Medicaid can also get Medicaid rides. NC Medicaid’s May 2026 quick reference guide places dual eligible members in NC Medicaid Direct, where the county Department of Social Services (DSS) arranges rides. NC Medicaid asks these members to request a ride at least 4 days before the appointment. Members in the Innovations or TBI waivers book through their Tailored Plan instead. The state’s Aged, Blind and Disabled Medicaid Manual (MA-2910) says a rider whose Medicaid only helps with Medicare costs (MQB-Q, B, or E) gets no Medicaid rides. See the North Carolina guide for how county DSS rides work.

Riders without Medicaid have few plan choices with rides. For 2027, 32 of the 176 individual Medicare Advantage plan options offered in North Carolina list a ride benefit, down from 45 of 172 for 2026. Twenty-eight of the 32 are special needs plans for people with Medicaid, certain chronic conditions, or nursing home level care.

The change is part of a national drop in plan rides, like Highmark’s in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In the same CMS files, 1,815 of 5,522 individual Medicare Advantage plan options nationwide list a ride benefit for 2027, down from 2,128 of 5,557 for 2026. For how plan ride benefits work, see Medicare Advantage transportation.

What NEMT providers should do now

1. Find your Blue Medicare riders. Check each regular rider’s card for the plan name. Unless it says Healthy Blue + Medicare, a Blue Cross NC Medicare plan covers no routine rides from January 1, 2027.
2. Count your Blue Medicare trips. Check how many of this year’s SafeRide trips were for Blue Medicare members, and use the count to set January driver schedules. SafeRide Health still books Healthy Blue + Medicare trips.
3. Tell regular riders before December 7. They can compare plans at Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Blue Medicare Customer Service is 1-888-310-4110 for the HMO-POS plans and 1-877-494-7647 for the PPO plans (TTY 711), 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The notices add that a member enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan for January 1, 2027 can still switch plans from January 1 to March 31, 2027.
4. Point riders with Medicaid to their options. They can ask about Healthy Blue + Medicare, and those with full Medicaid can book Medicaid rides through their county DSS or Tailored Plan.
5. Have a private-pay price ready. Riders who lose plan rides will ask what a trip costs. See private pay NEMT for how to set and collect a fare.