Getting a Medi-Cal ride, plan by plan.

• NEMT (non-emergency medical transportation): an ambulance, wheelchair van, litter van or air, for members whose condition rules out ordinary transport. Your doctor or other provider fills in a PCS form first.
• NMT (non-medical transportation): a car, taxi, rideshare, bus or train, or mileage paid to a friend or relative who drives you, for members who have no other way to get to covered care. No doctor’s form is needed.

Both are covered Medi-Cal benefits for trips to medical care, prescriptions and medical supplies. The difference is explained in NEMT vs NMT.

Phone numbers and hours are as each plan’s page showed them on October 19, 2026; the number on the back of your member ID card is always current. Members not in a health plan (fee-for-service Medi-Cal) start from DHCS’s transportation page.

DHCS counts rideshare as public conveyance for NMT, and plans word the benefit differently:

• IEHP lists rideshare (Uber or Lyft), curb-to-curb rides and bus passes.
• Health Net lists car, van, taxi, rideshare and mass transit; rideshare drivers wait 5 minutes past the pickup time, other drivers 15.
• Partnership HealthPlan lists bus passes, taxi vouchers and train tickets, the least costly option that meets your needs, and pays gas mileage to a friend or relative who drives you.
• L.A. Care’s Medi-Cal page lists passenger car, taxi and other public or private transportation.

Call the number you booked with. DHCS requires plans to arrange an urgent ride if the transportation provider is late or doesn’t arrive, so you don’t miss the appointment. San Francisco Health Plan tells members to call ModivCare’s “Where’s my Ride?” line when a ride is more than 15 minutes late.

Some transportation companies also text a link to a ride page that shows the van on its way. If that page says “powered by MileCall”, here is what it means.