WASHINGTON D.C. – For more than 40 years, Medicaid beneficiaries, many of whom are among our nation’s most fragile citizens, have relied on non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) for travel to and from medical appointments. A newly released study, commissioned by the Medical Transportation Access Coalition (MTAC), an association founded by the country’s top NEMT brokers, LogistiCare Solutions, MTM, and Southeastrans, confirms NEMT is a highly cost-effective, public-private partnership that helps assure the health and wellbeing of millions in America. It saves Medicaid, and thereby taxpayers, more than $40 million per month for every 30,000 beneficiaries receiving treatment for one of three conditions covered in the study.
The study used Medicaid claims data and a survey of nearly 1,000 Medicaid beneficiaries to determine their usage and the benefits realized. Their research focused on three relatively common and expensive diseases for which Medicaid beneficiaries were transported to and from medical appointments – kidney dialysis for patients suffering end-stage renal disease, diabetic wound care and treatment for substance abuse disorders.
“As we surveyed nearly 1,000 vulnerable users of NEMT, we heard again and again about the importance of this benefit,” said Mike Adelberg, a principal with Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting and co-author of the study.
Fifty-eight percent of beneficiaries participating in the survey said they would not be able to keep their medical appointments without access to NEMT. Even more sobering, 10 percent of respondents said they “would die” or “probably would die” without access to NEMT.