What you need to know as NEMT goes Digital

A fully digital transportation network is being required by state Medicaid offices and managed health care plans across the country and in the not-too-distant future, will be required in order to provide transport in the NEMT market.  

So what does this mean exactly?  

A fully digital transportation network consists of real or near real-time integration between the driver, the dispatch/scheduling office, and the broker or originating source of the trip.  Even a small gap between these three points of contact means the system is no longer digital.  

Why does it matter?  

Think of it from a personal perspective.

If you book a ride for your elderly family member and have an emergency and need to get in touch with them, the broker you booked the transportation with will struggle to quickly assist if they don’t have up to date location information.  

From a logic and safety standpoint, it makes sense that whomever you book the ride with knows when the driver will arrive and the patient’s location during the ride.  

The other major component is cost savings.  A recent study determined that a fully digital NEMT network would cut costs by approximately $268 per member which equates to a $537 million dollar savings for health plans.  The combination of savings and improved member/customer experience is going to drive change quickly.  That is exactly what we are seeing in the NEMT space with the push to digitization.  

How does this impact me?

Financial benefits aren’t limited to the health plans.  Transit providers can also experience cost savings through automation and increased revenue and more timely payments.  The transformation to a digital NEMT market results in operational efficiencies, by decreasing manual effort, creating the opportunity to reduce overhead and increase ride capacity.   More specifically, 

• less phone calls from members and brokers due to accuracy and transparency in ETAs
• less cancelled trips due to improved communication
• fewer no shows  due to phone/text ride reminders.  

More timely payments due to a properly functioning integration with the broker, less denied trips, and a better user experience are also part of digitization.  

Should I be worried?  

At CTS Software, we go to  great lengths to protect your data and ensure that we keep it secure in TripMaster, our software solution.  Brokers have no direct access into your TripMaster software and only receive data and events that were specifically identified to be provided as part of the integration needed for digitization. Typically, this consists of OTW, arrival, pickup and drop-off times along with the necessary data for submitting your invoices.   When you use our TripSync integration with a broker we only update that broker in trips they sent to you, and they have no visibility into your other contracts whatsoever.  One of the major benefits of using TripMaster is that we have your best interest in mind.  TripMaster is not owned or managed in anyway by any broker or health plan.  You are our customer and we’re here to serve you, an essential NEMT provider. Other software solutions such as WellRyde, Reveal, etc are owned and maintained by brokers so may not have the same motivators and approach as we do at CTS Software.  

What can I do to be prepared?

Working with an experienced software vendor is critical.  At CTS Software, we’ve been in the business for over 30 years and trusted by over 500 transit providers.  We have a proven track record of successfully providing the data accuracy necessary to successfully participate in a digital NEMT market.  Having your drivers use ParaScope, our driver app, correctly and with a reliable mobile device is all it takes for us to transmit data to your brokers and ensure you have a strong digital scorecard.  

Below is a visual of the digitization flow, starting with a Health Plan or State Medicaid Agency as the initiator of the digitization requirement.