Minnesota Freezes New NEMT Provider Enrollment in the Twin Cities Metro Until January 2027

On January 27, 2026, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) stopped enrolling new nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers located in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. On July 23, 2026, DHS extended the moratorium to January 27, 2027. NEMT companies located in any other Minnesota county can still enroll.

What changed

Item	Detail
Who cannot enroll	New NEMT providers located in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties
Start date	January 27, 2026
Current end date	January 27, 2027, after the July 23, 2026 extension
Providers outside the metro	Can enroll
Providers already enrolled	Keep serving members
Members	Member enrollment is not affected. The freeze limits new providers, not who can get rides
Questions	transportation.DHS@state.mn.us

The NEMT moratorium is part of a wider freeze. DHS’s January 30, 2026 notice put 13 Medicaid service categories it identified as high risk for fraud under an enrollment freeze from January 27, 2026, and nonemergency medical transportation was one of them. DHS said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) directed the freeze. For NEMT, DHS’s March 2, 2026 briefing to the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee described it as a moratorium in the metro counties.

During the freeze, DHS said it would:

• stop accepting new enrollment applications for the frozen services,
• not process new enrollment submissions, including ones already waiting in the queue, and
• keep the freeze for at least six months, with the option to extend it.

On July 10, 2026, DHS said CMS had approved extending the moratorium for 12 of its 14 high-risk services, from July 27, 2026 through January 27, 2027. The notice extending the NEMT metro moratorium to the same date followed on July 23.

Why Minnesota did it

Federal rules let a state Medicaid agency pause enrollment of new providers of a type that is at high risk for fraud, waste, or abuse. Under 42 CFR 455.470, the state must first find that members’ access to care will not suffer and get CMS’s concurrence. The first period is 6 months. The state can extend it in 6-month increments, documenting the need in writing each time.

DHS’s March 2, 2026 briefing gave these figures for Minnesota NEMT in 2024:

2024	Fee-for-service	Managed care
Providers	551	1,165
Members who rode	42,462	214,297
Trips	1.4 million	5.5 million
Paid claims	$32.2 million	$119.2 million

On its investigations and sanctions slide, the same NEMT briefing listed 71 open investigations, plus 14 payment suspensions and 5 money recovery actions in 2025 and 2026. DHS classifies NEMT as a high-risk provider type, so enrollment and revalidation every three years come with background checks and site visits. NEMT claims also go through prepayment review, which started after Governor Walz’s October 29, 2025 announcement. See Minnesota’s prepayment review for NEMT.

Who it affects

New companies in the metro

You cannot get a new Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) enrollment as an NEMT provider located in the seven counties until the moratorium ends. DHS’s briefing says both transportation organizations and individual drivers enroll with MHCP.

The freeze also reaches health plan work. DHS says managed care organizations oversee 80 percent of Minnesota NEMT spending. Under 42 CFR 438.602(b), the state must screen and enroll every network provider of a Medicaid managed care plan. A plan may sign a provider while enrollment is pending for up to 120 days. It must end the agreement once the state says the provider cannot be enrolled, or when 120 days pass without enrollment.

Enrolled providers

Enrolled providers keep serving members. The January 30 notice said enrolled providers in the frozen services may enroll new locations for services they already provide. Confirm with DHS before you open a new metro location on that basis.

Enrolled providers also went through Minnesota Revalidate 2026. NEMT providers had to revalidate by May 31, 2026, and every owner with 5 percent or more needed a fingerprint background study through NETStudy 2.0. On June 5, 2026, DHS said it had finished reviewing nearly 5,600 high-risk providers on time.

Companies outside the metro

A company located outside the seven counties can enroll. It still faces the high-risk screening: background studies and site visits before enrollment.

What metro applicants can do now

1. Do not wait on a pending application. DHS said it would not process submissions already in the queue when the freeze began. Ask DHS what happened to yours.
2. Ask about an exception. In its January 2026 notices, DHS said it may allow new providers where service capacity is not enough, and that each exception needs written approval from CMS. Email transportation.DHS@state.mn.us with the area and service you want to cover.
3. Build your file while you wait. DHS lists a Minnesota Department of Transportation special transportation services (STS) certificate, with its vehicle and driver rules, as part of NEMT enrollment. Line up the certificate, insurance, and driver files now so you can apply the day enrollment reopens.
4. Find work outside Medicaid. Private pay riders and facility contracts do not need an MHCP enrollment. See what to do when a broker network is full and how to get NEMT facility contracts.
5. Know the rules before buying an enrolled company. Ownership disclosures are due to the state within 35 days after a change in ownership (42 CFR 455.104), and Minnesota screens owners of high-risk services with fingerprint background studies. Ask DHS how it treats an ownership change during the moratorium before you sign.
6. Watch for the next decision. DHS can extend again in 6-month increments. Sign up for MHCP provider news and check it before January 27, 2027.

For how moratoriums work in other states, see Medicaid enrollment moratoriums. Our Minnesota state guide covers enrollment, licensing, and rates.

Key dates

Date	What happened
October 29, 2025	Governor Walz names high-risk Medicaid services, NEMT among them, and orders a third-party audit and prepayment review
January 8, 2026	DHS announces a coming enrollment freeze for 13 high-risk services
January 26, 2026	Minnesota Revalidate 2026 begins
January 27, 2026	The freeze takes effect, including the NEMT moratorium in the metro
May 31, 2026	Revalidation deadline for high-risk providers
July 10, 2026	DHS says CMS approved extending the moratorium for 12 of 14 high-risk services to January 27, 2027
July 23, 2026	DHS extends the NEMT metro moratorium to January 27, 2027
January 27, 2027	Current end date

Who to contact

• DHS NEMT policy questions: transportation.DHS@state.mn.us
• MHCP Provider Resource Center: 651-431-2700 or 800-366-5411
• NETStudy 2.0 background studies: 651-431-6620, dhs.netstudy2@state.mn.us