Case management is about connection.
But connection only matters if care actually happens.
Every day, health plan case managers work to align providers, schedule appointments, address social barriers, and help members navigate a healthcare system that is difficult to access by design. Their success is measured by completed visits, clinical outcomes, cost of care, and sustained engagement.
Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) plays a critical role in making success possible. It is the physical infrastructure that turns care plans into completed visits, leading to the desired outcomes. Without reliable transportation, even the best-designed care coordination efforts fall short.
When transportation fails, care coordination breaks
For Medicaid members and other vulnerable populations, transportation remains one of the most common and most preventable barriers to care. A missed ride often means a missed appointment, which can delay treatment, interrupt continuity of care, and increase the likelihood of higher-cost interventions later.
When transportation fails, the impact shows up immediately in case management workflows:
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Appointments that must be rescheduled
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Providers reporting repeat no-shows
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Members frustrated by barriers outside their control
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Care plans that stall before they begin
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Barriers to medication adherence or refill prescriptions persist
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New symptoms or member concerns are not discussed or addressed
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Needed lifestyle changes may stall
In these moments, transportation is not peripheral to care coordination. It determines whether coordination succeeds at all.
Transportation access is care access
Case managers are accountable for connecting members to care, and NEMT is the mechanism that enables those connections in the real world.
When transportation is reliable:
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Members attend primary and specialty care visits
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Preventive and follow-up care happens on time
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Care plans move forward instead of resetting
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Providers experience fewer disruptions
When transportation is unreliable, case management becomes reactive. Time that should be spent on proactive outreach, complex care coordination, or addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) is instead consumed by troubleshooting missed rides and service failures.
This isn’t a workflow inconvenience. It’s a structural issue.
The hidden operational burden on case managers
Case managers don’t run transportation programs–but they absorb the fallout when those programs struggle.
Each failed ride creates additional manual work:
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Outreach to understand why an appointment was missed
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Coordination to reschedule services
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Updates to care plans and documentation
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Increased member support and reassurance
Over time, this reactive cycle limits a case manager’s ability to focus on high-impact work, especially for members with complex conditions, or supporting behavioral health or social needs.
Effective NEMT programs reduce this burden by doing one thing consistently well: getting members to care on time and with confidence.
NEMT as an enabler of equity and access
For many Medicaid beneficiaries, transportation is the difference between theoretical access and real access. This is especially true for:
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Members in rural or underserved areas
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Individuals with disabilities or mobility challenges
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Members managing chronic or behavioral health conditions
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Populations with limited access to personal vehicles
In this context, NEMT is not simply a benefit. It is foundational to equitable care delivery.
When transportation works, case managers can focus on addressing broader needs instead of repeatedly overcoming the same access barrier. Programs that leverage modern tools often see better coordination across teams, fewer manual follow-ups, and more predictable outcomes. Not because of technology alone, but because the underlying system is designed to support care delivery rather than react to failure.
Reframing transportation as core infrastructure
Transportation is often treated as an administrative function, managed outside the care team’s line of sight. That lack of visibility and accountability is why failures repeat.
In reality, transportation is inseparable from case management outcomes. Case managers are responsible for connecting people to care. NEMT is how those connections are physically made.
When health plans and state agencies adopt this lens, priorities shift:
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From managing rides to enabling care access
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From reacting to failures to supporting continuity
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From siloed operations to shared accountability for outcomes
This reframing aligns transportation programs with the realities of frontline care coordination and the outcomes leaders are ultimately responsible for delivering.
What this means for health plans and state leaders
Case management succeeds when care plans result in incomplete visits and sustained engagement. Transportation is a critical part of that equation.
Reliable transportation supports better outcomes, reduces avoidable administrative burden on case managers, and strengthens access to care for the populations that need it most. Modern approaches can improve efficiency, but the goal is not technology for its own sake. The goal is connection, with visibility, accountability, and continuity built in.
If case managers are accountable for connecting people to care, transportation programs must be built to make those connections real.
Learn how health plans and states are strengthening NEMT programs to ensure care plans turn into care delivered.
