What is an NEMT broker?

An NEMT broker is a company that a state Medicaid agency or managed care plan hires to run the transportation benefit. The broker takes ride requests from members, verifies eligibility, credentials transportation providers, assigns trips, audits them and pays providers for completed rides. Large national brokers include Modivcare, MTM, Verida and Access2Care; many states also use regional brokers.

Why brokers matter for NEMT providers

For most providers the broker is the customer. Getting credentialed with the brokers that hold contracts in your state is how you get Medicaid trip volume, and the broker's rates, trip mix, on-time standards and payment speed shape your margins more than anything else you control. Providers that diversify across two or three brokers plus facility and private-pay contracts are less exposed when a broker loses a state contract or cuts rates.

See how the major brokers stack up on rates, payment speed and provider support in our NEMT broker report card.

Related terms

• Fee-for-Service Medicaid
• Managed Care Organization (MCO)
• Private Pay
• Medicaid
• Capitation