STAGECOACH & VERMONT HEALTH ACCESS: The Road to Medical Care
By Holly Brown
While national healthcare reform recently made headlines, Vermont Medicaid has afforded generous coverage under its program for many years.
Rides to healthcare appointments for Medicaid clients who lack transportation constitute a whopping 28% of the trips provided through Stagecoach. Under this plan, eligible persons are transported to medical, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and physical therapy appointments as well as to pharmacies.
To better understand this aspect of its services, Stagecoach offers the following insights:
An area couple and their three children gave up their only vehicle last fall when both parents were laid off from jobs. Faced with trying to maintain the family’s health, they turned to Stagecoach for rides to pediatric and dental appointments through the Medicaid system. Without such a benefit, this family probably would not be able to reach routine healthcare.
One person with a disability who has never driven depends on Stagecoach to attend weekly counseling sessions and therapist-conducted programs twenty miles away. The Medicaid transportation provision through Stagecoach enables this person to access vital support.
In another situation, a widow who relied on her husband to drive everywhere must now find rides to daily cancer treatments over the next four weeks. Through Medicaid’s collaboration with Stagecoach, she has a safe and comfortable way to access this necessary care.
Weekly physical therapy sessions following a sprain were recommended for an elderly man. Thanks to Medicaid’s transportation plan, this follow-up care that helps ensure his complete recovery is facilitated via Stagecoach’s door-to-door Maxi-Taxi bus.
Early every morning, a young addict residing in a housing shelter needs rides to a substance abuse treatment program that offers life-changing hope. An area taxi service with whom Stagecoach contracts in that locality provides transportation for this individual.
Medicaid rides through Stagecoach obviously represent a crucial link to health care for individuals and families in a wide variety of situations.
To receive rides from Stagecoach through this program, clients must qualify for Medicaid benefits, and their destination must be a Medicaid-approved service within 30 miles of their residence. Additionally, there should be no other means of transportation available in the household.
Since Stagecoach arranges rides using a network of Volunteer Drivers and contracted taxis, requests for transports need to be called or faxed in to Stagecoach at least 24 hours in advance, preferably 1-2 weeks (especially where Volunteers provide the rides). In cases of special appointments beyond the 30-mile limitation, the patient’s primary care provider must submit a “Physician Referral Form” for pre-approval by the Office of Vermont Health Access (OVHA).
Other guidelines must be followed to ensure coverage under Medicaid’s plan. Ride Coordinator Kelly Wheatley emphasizes, “It is rewarding to provide our services to those in need of transportation, but passengers need to abide by program rules. Our goal is to get clients to scheduled appointments safely and economically.”
For more information about Medicaid funded transportation, contact the Stagecoach office at 802-728-3773.
