Ford Motor Company is launching its new GoRide non-emergency medical transportation service.

A month after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services planned to repeal a requirement that state Medicaid programs cover transportation for non-emergency medical care, the agency still has not acted.

The delay appears to be intentional. A regulatory agenda included in the White House budget set a new deadline in late 2021 for a proposed rule allowing states to opt out of transportation coverage. Inside Health Policy first reported the delay.

A spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association said the provider organization is aware of the new timeline but did not have any insight as to why CMS pushed back its plans. CMS officials did not respond to a request from McKnight’s for more information. 

Medicaid always has covered non-emergency medical transportation for those who have no alternative. An estimated 10% of Medicaid beneficiaries — many of them in nursing homes — rely on NEMT to get to dialysis appointments or other routine care not provided on-site.

When CMS announced its intention to allow states to forgo such coverage, skilled nursing providers and members of Congress rallied against the proposal.

Last month, the Congressional Black Caucus put forward a spending restriction to prevent the rule from moving forward. At the time, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) called non-emergency transportation services a “vital component” of the healthcare system, especially for elderly individuals with disabilities. She noted that the benefit accounts for 1% of Medicaid’s spending.

Brendan Flinn, director of Home and Community-Based Services for LeadingAge, said his organization is pleased with the reported delay. 

“Transportation is a critical component of aging services, and the Medicaid NEMT benefit helps provide access to important supports,” he said. “Research has found NEMT to be a cost effective and cost saving benefit, and we encourage policymakers and CMS to make access to transportation easier and more readily available for older adults to access services and ultimately the broader community.”

AHCA said Tuesday afternoon that it would withhold comment until a proposal is published. CMS’ current target date is set for December 2021.