Under Minnesota’s fee-for-service Medical Assistance (MA) program, Minnesota counties are responsible for providing transportation assistance to MA recipients so they can obtain health-care services. This assistance is commonly referred to as non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT).

A new report, NEMT Coordinators in Minnesota: A Survey of How Minnesota Counties Use Coordinators to Deliver Non-Emergency Medical Transportation, published by the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access based on research conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs documents how select Minnesota counties use transportation coordinators in providing and administering NEMT under the state’s fee-for-service MA program.

In the surveyed counties, the use of a coordinator generally made the delivery of NEMT more efficient and streamlined than it had been with previous approaches. Coordinators have increased efficiency principally by centralizing both transportation expertise and the ride arrangement processes, either internally within the county government or externally with an outside coordinator.

• Download the full report at: http://www.coordinatemntransit.org/MCOTA/documents/MCOTA_NEMTCoordinatorReport_2013.pdf

About the Council

The Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) serves as a clearinghouse to address transportation coordination topics from a statewide perspective. The Minnesota State Legislature established the group in 2010 (MN Statute 2010 174.285). The group includes member representatives from thirteen agencies.

MCOTA’s work focuses on increasing capacity to serve unmet transportation needs, improving quality of transit service, improving understanding and access to these services by the public, and achieving more cost-effective service delivery. In addition, fostering communication and cooperation between transportation agencies and social service organizations leads to the creation of new ideas and innovative strategies for transportation coordination and funding.

Learn more at www.CoordinateMNTransit.org.