The Wire — Week of September 28, 2026
Four NEMT changes land on the same day: Colorado opens provider enrollment for the first time in three years, BCBSTX Texas flips from Modivcare to MTM Health, the federal non-citizen Medicaid cutoff takes effect, and Washington, DC's Verida contract is approved — plus Louisiana's ARPA deadline.
The Wire is NEMT Wire's weekly news brief: the contract awards, rate moves, and regulatory decisions that decide who carries the trips. Five items this week — and four of them hit on the same day, Thursday, October 1.
1. Colorado: the enrollment door opens Thursday — and HCPF says don't enroll with MediDrive until credentialing is done
Two Colorado dates land this week. The NEMT provider enrollment moratorium, in place since October 1, 2023, expires Wednesday, September 30, and on Thursday, October 1, new companies can begin enrolling as Health First Colorado NEMT providers for the first time in three years. HCPF's transition hub has also been updated since our last brief: the September 15 provider webinar slides and recording are posted, the statewide transition operational memo (OM 26-029) is linked, and the FAQ now says plainly that if you have not finished credentialing in ProCredEx, do not enroll with MediDrive yet — finish credentialing first, then enroll. Other details operators asked about are now in writing: MediDrive pays completed, verified trips bi-weekly; every driver/vehicle needs one compatible device (MediDrive supplies the software, not the hardware); and a provider toolkit is "coming soon." The hard deadline is unchanged — from January 1, 2027, no MediDrive contract means no trips and no payment. Our full transition guide is here.
Source: Colorado HCPF — NEMT statewide broker transition hub
2. Texas: BCBSTX Medicaid rides move from Modivcare to MTM Health on October 1
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is switching its Medicaid members' non-emergency medical transportation from Modivcare to MTM Health effective Thursday, October 1. Per the plan's provider notice, trips already scheduled for on or after October 1 — including recurring trips — will be fulfilled by MTM Health with no action required from members, and BCBSTX is mailing eligible members instructions for contacting MTM. For transportation providers, the operational question is simple: if you were carrying BCBSTX Medicaid trips through Modivcare's Texas network, those trips now route through MTM Health's network. If you are not credentialed with MTM Health, that volume goes to someone who is. This is a plan-level change, not a Texas HHSC broker change, so other Texas MCO and fee-for-service arrangements are unaffected.
3. Federal: the October 1 non-citizen eligibility cutoff is a rider-count event
Also on October 1, section 71109 of H.R. 1 takes effect. Under CMS's implementation guidance (State Health Official letter #26-001), federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for lawfully present non-citizens is limited from that date to lawful permanent residents, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of the Compact of Free Association nations; states were told to redetermine eligibility for affected enrollees before the deadline. Some states are already messaging it — Rhode Island's Medicaid agency has a banner up saying coverage ends October 1 for "some people who are not U.S. citizens," with work requirements and six-month renewals following in 2027. For operators, this is the second eligibility-driven volume risk of the fall (after the work-requirement rollout we covered last week): a rider who loses coverage on October 1 is a standing order that stops paying. Run an eligibility check on recurring riders this week rather than discovering it on a denied claim in November.
Sources: CMS SHO #26-001 — Implementation of Section 71109 (PDF); Rhode Island EOHHS — NEMT page with federal-changes notice
4. Washington, DC: Verida's fee-for-service broker contract is approved — watch for the handoff from MTM
The DC Council's contract approval for Verida, Inc. (Proposed Contract No. CW135340, record CA26-0885) was deemed approved June 25, and Verida now has live DC facility and provider pages up, listing a regional director and a 24/7 urgent-trip line. MTM Health, which has run the District's fee-for-service NEMT program for years, still shows itself as the DC broker on its own site as of this week. Industry sources put the switchover at October 1; we have not seen that date on a DHCF page, so treat it as unconfirmed. If you carry DC fee-for-service Medicaid trips, the practical step this week is to confirm your status with Verida's DC provider relations team rather than waiting for the MTM contract to lapse.
Sources: DC Council LIMS — CA26-0885, Proposed Contract No. CW135340 with Verida, Inc.; Verida — Washington, DC facilities page; MTM Health — Washington, DC program page
5. Deadline watch: Louisiana's ARPA NEMT program ends Wednesday
Last call: Louisiana's ARPA-funded NEMT supplement sunsets September 30, with final provider payments issuing by October 31. If you still have trips under the program, confirm which riders revert to standard Medicaid NEMT arrangements before Thursday. Our earlier coverage of the wind-down is here.
Source: Louisiana Department of Health — Medical Transportation Provider Resources
States in this piece:ColoradoLouisianaRhode IslandTexasWashington, DCNational / Federal