The common space types
- Ambulatory: the rider sits in a regular seat.
- Wheelchair: the rider stays in their wheelchair, secured in a wheelchair van.
- Stretcher or gurney: the rider lies down in a litter van.
- Bariatric: a wider wheelchair or stretcher with a higher weight limit, needing the right lift and equipment.
Space type in Medi-Cal
Medi-Cal talks about the mode of transportation: ambulance, litter van, wheelchair van or air for NEMT, and ordinary vehicles for NMT. The mode is chosen by the member’s provider on the PCS form, and the plan must authorize at least the lowest-cost mode that meets the member’s medical needs. Brokers often add their own codes for the same idea in their trip files.
Why it matters day to day
A van has a capacity per space type, such as two wheelchairs and three seats, and some seats fold away when a wheelchair is loaded. Dispatch has to match each leg to a van that has the right space free at that moment. Rates differ by space type, so a leg booked as ambulatory that was really a wheelchair ride is billed wrong.
Service level is a separate idea: how much help the driver gives, from curb to curb to hand to hand.
Going deeper: Wheelchair, ambulatory and stretcher trips: space types and what each needs from dispatch and billing
Related terms
- AmbulatoryAn ambulatory rider is one who can walk, with or without a little help, and sit in a regular vehicle seat.
- Wheelchair vanA wheelchair van is a vehicle with a lift or ramp and securements that carries a rider seated in their wheelchair.
- Litter van (gurney or stretcher van)A litter van, also called a gurney or stretcher van, carries a rider lying flat on a stretcher who needs no medical care on the way.
- Curb-to-curb, door-to-door and door-through-doorCurb-to-curb, door-to-door, door-through-door and hand-to-hand are service levels: they say how far the driver goes with the rider, from the vehicle only to handing them to a named person inside.
- Payer (funding source)The payer, also called the funding source, is whoever pays for a trip leg: a broker, a health plan directly, Medi-Cal fee-for-service, a facility, a workers’ compensation administrator or the rider.
Sources
Checked on . Rules change: check the current version with the payer before you bill.