When Medi-Cal covers it
DHCS tells plans to provide litter van service when the member doesn’t need an ambulance but meets both of these: they must travel lying face down or on their back because they can’t sit for the length of the trip, and they need safety equipment beyond what passenger cars, taxis and public transport carry.
An ambulance is the mode instead for facility transfers that need continuous IV medication, monitoring or observation, and for riders recently placed on oxygen or who need oxygen with monitoring. The mode is set by the member’s provider on the PCS form, and the plan or broker can’t change it.
Billing codes
The Medi-Cal provider manual lists HCPCS T2005, “non-emergency transportation: stretcher van,” for the base and A0380 for the miles. Plans and brokers may use their own codes; check each contract. See Medi-Cal NEMT billing codes.
What it means for the provider
A stretcher leg takes the van’s stretcher position for the whole ride, so it shapes the run around it. Like wheelchair vans, litter vans need a VSSI certificate for Medi-Cal enrollment.
Going deeper: Wheelchair, ambulatory and stretcher trips: space types and what each needs from dispatch and billing
Related terms
- Wheelchair vanA wheelchair van is a vehicle with a lift or ramp and securements that carries a rider seated in their wheelchair.
- Space type (level of service)Space type, also called level of service, says how a rider travels and so what room they take in a vehicle: ambulatory (a seat), wheelchair, stretcher or bariatric.
- Medi-Cal NEMT billing codes (HCPCS)HCPCS codes are the billing codes for each service on a claim.
- Physician Certification Statement (PCS form)A Physician Certification Statement (PCS) is the form a member’s provider signs to prescribe NEMT.
Sources
Checked on . Rules change: check the current version with the payer before you bill.