Minnesota NEMT Administrator Delay: What It Means Now

On May 27, 2026, Minnesota’s governor signed chapter 121 of the 2026 Session Laws (Senate File 4476). It took the fixed start dates out of the state’s plan to hand nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) to one administrator. The switch was set for July 1, 2026 for fee-for-service members and January 1, 2027 for health plan members. It now happens only when the Department of Human Services (DHS) implements the administrator, and DHS must give counties and health plans six months’ notice first.

What changed

Item	Under the 2025 law	Under chapter 121
Administrator start, fee-for-service members	July 1, 2026	When DHS implements it
Administrator start, health plan members	January 1, 2027	When DHS implements it
Notice before the start	Not required	Six months, to counties, managed care organizations, and county-based purchasing organizations
Record of the start	Not required	DHS must notify the Revisor of Statutes
Today’s rates, county roles, and plan rules	End on the two dates above	Stay until the administrator starts

The new law sets no replacement date. Sections 27, 28, and 62 of article 3 made the change, and each took effect the day after final enactment, May 28, 2026.

How the plan started

A 2025 law, signed June 14, 2025, added subdivision 18i to Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.0625. It told DHS to contract, statewide or by region, for the administration of the whole NEMT program. The contract must include rides for members enrolled in managed care.

The same 2025 law set a lot of today’s rules to end on July 1, 2026 for fee-for-service and January 1, 2027 for health plans:

Ten paragraphs of subdivision 17, including the fee-for-service rates, the rural add-ons, the fuel adjustment, and the role of counties and tribes as the local agency.
Subdivision 18b, which bars DHS from using a broker or coordinator for public transit and taxi rides, except to set a rider’s level of service.
Subdivision 18e, the single administrative structure and its web-based assessment tool.
Subdivision 18h, the NEMT rules that apply to health plans.

Three new paragraphs of subdivision 17 were to start on the same dates. Under them, the administrative agency pays providers, the administrator approves trips longer than 30 miles to primary care or 60 miles to specialty care, and health plan rides are paid by the rider’s assessed mode. On March 2, 2026, DHS still told the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee that NEMT would move to a single administrator on those two dates.

What the 2026 law does

Section 28 rewrites subdivision 18i. It keeps the rule that, effective July 1, 2026, DHS must contract statewide or regionally for the program’s administration, and the contract must still cover health plan members. It drops the separate January 1, 2027 date for health plan members. Two new paragraphs require six months’ notice before the administrator starts, and a notice to the Revisor of Statutes once it does.

Section 27 changes each of those ten paragraphs of subdivision 17 so it ends “upon implementation of the administrator under subdivision 18i.” The three new paragraphs now start at the same moment. Section 62 moves the repeal of subdivisions 18b, 18e, and 18h to that same trigger.

What stays in place until the administrator starts

Rule	Statute	What it means for your company
Counties and tribes run their modes and pay providers	Subd. 17	Your contract stays with your county, tribe, or its coordinator
Fee-for-service rates by assessed mode	Subd. 17	Unassisted by a NEMT provider: $12.10 base plus $1.43 a mile. Assisted: $14.30 plus $1.43. Lift or ramp: $19.80 plus $1.70. Protected: $75 plus $2.40. Stretcher: $60 plus $2.40, and $9 a trip for a medically necessary extra attendant.
Rural and super rural add-ons	Subd. 17	Super rural base is 111.3 percent. Rural and super rural mileage is 125 percent for trips of 17 miles or less and 112.5 percent for 18 to 50 miles. The rider’s home ZIP code decides.
Quarterly fuel adjustment	Subd. 17	In a quarter when the Minnesota average gas price posted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration is above $3.00 a gallon, the per-mile rate rises 1 percent for each 10 cents over $3.00
Trip distance limits	Subd. 17	30 miles to primary care and 60 to specialty care, unless the local agency approves more
Health plan rules	Subd. 18h	Plan network providers meet the special transportation service standards, and plans give a fuel adjustment when fuel tops $3 a gallon

Rates are paid by the rider’s assessed mode, not the vehicle you send. The mileage amounts above are the statute’s base figures, before the quarterly fuel adjustment. See level of service for how the mode is set.

DHS keeps issuing rules for the current setup. Starting August 1, 2026, a claim that a county, tribal agency, or transportation coordinator such as MTM-MNET or SmartLink submits must list the transportation company’s NPI or UMPI as the referring provider.

Who it affects

Companies with county, tribal, or coordinator contracts. DHS’s March 2026 briefing says local agencies run modes 1 to 4 and the state runs modes 5 to 7. MTM Health arranges fee-for-service rides in the Twin Cities metro under a contract with the Metro County Consortium. SmartLink arranges them for Scott and Carver county residents, and county and tribal agencies arrange them in other areas. Those contracts did not end on July 1, 2026.
Companies that bill DHS for wheelchair, protected, and stretcher rides. The statute rates and fuel adjustment still apply to these modes.
Health plan network providers. Subdivision 18h still binds the plans, including its fuel adjustment rule.
New companies. Enrollment with Minnesota Health Care Programs is still required, and DHS extended the metro enrollment freeze to January 27, 2027. See the metro enrollment freeze.

What providers should do now

Keep your current contracts. The administrator did not start on July 1, 2026. Keep booking and billing through your county, tribe, coordinator, or DHS as before.
Ask to hear about the notice. The six months’ notice goes to counties, health plans, and county-based purchasing plans, not to transportation companies. Ask each one you work with to tell you when it arrives.
Check your rates each quarter. When Minnesota’s average gas price is above $3.00 a gallon, DHS adjusts the statute’s per-mile rates on the first day of the quarter.
Prepare for one contracting partner. Once the administrator starts, the administrative agency pays NEMT providers, and trips over 30 miles to primary care or 60 miles to specialty care need the administrator’s approval. The contract must include health plan members, so your county and health plan trips could come through one administrator for your area.
Meet the dates that did not move. Chapter 121 also puts NEMT under Minnesota’s electronic visit verification law starting January 1, 2027, or on federal approval if that comes later. Every driver must still be enrolled with DHS and named on the claim. See Minnesota’s prepayment review and our Minnesota state guide.

Key dates

Date	What happened
June 14, 2025	The 2025 law sets July 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027 for the administrator
March 2, 2026	DHS tells the House committee the move is set for those dates
May 27, 2026	The governor signs chapter 121
May 28, 2026	Sections 27, 28, and 62 take effect, replacing the dates
July 1, 2026	The first planned date passes with counties and coordinators still in place
August 1, 2026	County, tribal, and coordinator claims must list the transportation company as referring provider
January 1, 2027	NEMT falls under electronic visit verification, or on federal approval if later
To be set	The administrator starts at least six months after DHS gives notice

Who to contact

MHCP Provider Resource Center: 651-431-2700 or 800-366-5411
DHS NEMT policy questions: transportation.DHS@state.mn.us