BSW 718 Services: Non-Medical Transportation
Customize your policy alerts
Sign up for all Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services policy alerts
Know when Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services releases new policies or updates existing guidance.
Monitor payer policy activity
Governs non-medical transportation services available to Montana Big Sky Waiver members to access services, activities, and resources in their service plans; outlines eligibility, provider requirements, limits, and prior authorization rules.
No material clinical or coverage changes in this revision.
Coverage Criteria for Non-Medical Transportation
Coverage Criteria for Non-Medical Transportation
Non-medical transportation is covered for Big Sky Waiver members when services are included in the member's service plan and other public or volunteer transportation options are exhausted or inappropriate.
See definition of nonmedical transportation for examples (bus passes, paratransit tickets, taxi fares).
ALL of the following
- Taxi service cap: maximum of 22 trips per month.
If travel exceeds routine limits
- Non-medical transportation in excess of 50 miles bi-weekly requires RPO prior authorization.
- Out-of-state non-medical transportation requires RPO prior authorization.
Key Definitions
Coding and Service Limits
| bus passes | bus passes |
| paratransit tickets | paratransit tickets |
| taxi fares | taxi fares |
Provider Actions and Prior Authorization
Prior Authorization Required for >50 Miles Bi‑Weekly or Out‑of‑State Travel
Non-Medical Transportation in excess of 50 miles/bi-weekly and/or out-of-state travel requires RPO prior authorization. Providers must submit requests in accordance with BSW 403 (Prior Authorizations) and BSW 702 (Service Limitations and Exclusions).
- Applies when trips exceed 50 miles on a bi-weekly basis or when travel crosses state lines
- See BSW 403 for prior authorization procedures and BSW 702 for related service limitations
State Plan Medicaid Transportation Prior Authorization Phone
To obtain prior authorization for State Plan Medicaid Transportation services, providers or members must call 1-800-292-7114.
OpenPayer is powered by Trek Health's payer performance platform. Trek continuously ingests, validates, and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data alongside payer policies and other commercial payer data to create a structured payer intelligence foundation. OpenPayer uses this foundation to deliver personalized search results, dynamically generated policy pages, and tailored policy monitoring based on each user's payers, specialties, billing codes, and areas of interest. The same intelligence powers broader payer performance workflows, including reimbursement benchmarking, contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and financial decision-making.