Public transit operator seeks $800,000 to cover Medicaid NEMT shortfall

Jim Bolton, executive director of Tri-Valley Transit, told the Appropriations Committee that the Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) entitlement program ran an $800,000 deficit in fiscal year 2025 and asked the legislature for relief to prevent service reductions. Bolton said the NEMT program performs nearly 300,000 trips statewide for low-income Vermonters and that administrative burdens and insurance costs increased expenses by over $1,000,000 statewide in the past fiscal year.

Why it matters: Bolton said Tri-Valley and similar operators cannot cut Medicaid services and cannot cost-shift those expenses elsewhere, so a shortfall in the NEMT entitlement threatens other public transit services used by thousands of vulnerable riders.

What’s next: The committee will review testimony and agency material; no vote was taken at the hearing.