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Committee cuts non‑emergency medical transportation mileage rate, aligns wheelchair van payments
Summary
The Joint Budget Committee approved lowering the per‑mile rate for non‑ambulance non‑emergency medical transportation from about $6.10 to $3.00 and increasing wheelchair‑van per‑mile rates to align payments; staff projected a net general‑fund savings of about $14.9 million.
Joe Kurtz, Health Care Policy & Financing staff, recommended rate adjustments to non‑emergency medical transportation (NEMT). Kurtz said the department’s current NEMT reimbursement is much higher than comparable private sector taxi rates and that the program has experienced fraud, administrative difficulty, and uneven service quality after prior large rate increases.
Kurtz proposed reducing the non‑ambulance per‑mile rate to $3.00 and raising wheelchair‑van per‑mile payments (the current wheelchair rate was substantially lower than other NEMT rates). The recommended change aligns wheelchair van reimbursement with non‑ambulance service while bringing non‑ambulance sedan/taxi rates closer to PUC maximum taxi rates and private‑market comparisons.
The department projects a net general‑fund savings of roughly $14.9 million from the realignment. Committee members discussed fraud, service reliability and access for people with disabilities; Kurtz noted that program improvements and a brokered statewide model for booking rides are part of department policy to improve service management.
Action: The committee adopted the staff recommendation to lower non‑ambulance NEMT per‑mile reimbursement and to increase wheelchair‑van rates so they are consistent; the motion passed unanimously (6‑0).
Ending note: staff will reflect the rate changes in the long bill and monitor service outcomes; the department expects an implementation and oversight plan to improve booking, timeliness and fraud detection.
