How to Get Medical Transportation Contracts? – 8 Tips to Follow in 2024

Many NEMT providers are bound to run into a period of stagnancy where they find it difficult to acquire new clients. This makes them rethink how to get medical transportation contracts as fast as possible to avoid prolonged periods of inactive growth. 

Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers facilitate transportation to and from the hospital for those that suffer from illnesses or disabilities. This is mostly made possible thanks to the Medicaid program that covers medical transportation for certain patients. 

While the reasons behind the stagnancy of a NEMT business are pretty hard to understand, the issues themselves are pretty simple to overcome. The reason why a medical transportation company might want to resort to this list of 8 actionable tips that boost their chances of getting new contracts.

8 Simple Tips to Get More Medical Transportation Contracts

To get more medical transportation contracts, you must focus on refining your current processes and building trust with your clients. You can utilize the easy-to-follow tips given below to grow your client base exponentially.

1. Choose a particular niche 

In an area that has a lot of medical transportation providers then the best thing to do would be to pick a particular niche to cater to. You can choose to cater to any patient from diabetic patients to those that have any other chronic illness that requires medical transport.

Specialized forms of non-emergency transportation benefit both parties as they both get what they want. Though this can be quite difficult to execute if you live in a sparsely populated area where NEMT service is barely required.

2. Form relationships with medical institutions

Being in cahoots with large medical institutions can be quite lucrative if you have what it takes to meet their requirements. Medical institutions are always ready to give out NEMT contracts as they cannot afford to use their own vehicles for NEMT operations.

This mutually profitable partnership is one that requires a lot of hardwork and trust to be achieved. Such opportunities are usually not listed online and will require you to physically negotiate with the hospitals in your locality. 

3. Look for private clients that require your services

Some health insurance companies do not cover transportation for medical appointments for their patients. Such patients are usually those that need regular transportation to hospitals or other medical care sites such as dialysis centers. 

These patients would instantly subscribe to a medical transportation business that can offer them sufficient medical transportation services at an affordable price. In this case, your best bet would be to offer specialized services to price yourself competitively.

4. Offer specialized or alternative services

Private patients might be more than willing to employ your services if you are able to offer them the services that they desire. NEMT companies always look out for ways to diversify their services to attract more customers. 

Though despite their best efforts there are local citizens that struggle to find transportation providers that can take care of their medical needs. Such a person is also put off by high prices for services that they do not require.

5. Collaborate with local brokers for new contracts

NEMT brokers are a great way to quickly get some new contracts as they seem to have a lot of clients waiting for the right transportation service to pop up. Though one factor that makes people stay away from brokers is the fact that they usually charge a brokerage fee.

In some cases, the broker might not have any contracts to give to you either. The unavailability of new contracts is most prevalent in rural areas where the population is sparse. In such a situation, you would have to take the hard route to get new contracts. 

6. Market your services to the target audience

What use is an invisible service to any form of customer? In order to reach your ideal client base you need to invest some time in the marketing side. With the right marketing, you could potentially be visible to all of your ideal clients at once.

Your service clients can be from a variety of places including retirement homes. The best way to market your NEMT services is usually online. Advertising online allows you to reach out to any client that is looking for your service in an instant.  

7. Follow up with your customers regularly

Building rapport with your customers is a vital component for all NEMT businesses as it allows them to retain customers for a longer time. Following up and knowing the case of your patient indie out can not only give you better rental but also more contracts.

This is why you should start communicating as soon as possible, because of the fact that word of mouth is very powerful in this line of work. If your service clients refer you to other people that require NEMT services, then you are more likely to be chosen by the new clients.  

8. Use software to streamline regular processes

There are plenty of software solutions that solve logistical issues. Most businesses do not realize how much time and effort that can be saved by a bit of software. Even a medical transportation business can potentially save hours of time with a route planning software.

You can save hours on tasks such as dispatching, route optimization, route scheduling, and performance analysis, given that you have a brilliant route planner on your side. Such software solutions can not only refine your processes but also save you a lot of time and money.

Things to Check Before Getting Contracts 

Before signing a legal agreement, you might want to reevaluate the credentials and capabilities of your business beforehand to avoid any potential issues. The aspects you might want to evaluate carefully are usually going to be all the legal documentation that is required.

1. Check if you have the necessary equipment

When you’re running a NEMT business having the right equipment is of paramount importance as it can literally have fatal consequences. You must take into account all possible medical needs that may arise when you are transporting patients. 

It is of critical importance to fully take care of your customers when you run your own business as it can make all the difference. If you are able to safely and comfortably transport patients for their medical appointments then your business will quickly start racking up a reputation.

2. Ensure you have the required licenses and permits

When you sign a service agreement it is assumed that you have all the required business certifications. Though operating a medical transportation business without all the required documents can have very serious legal ramifications. 

This requirement is true for almost any business that deals in the medical sector which is why you must have all the necessary licenses. You should check your local regulations from the department of health and human services to see what sort of legal documents they require for you to operate your medical transportation business.

3. Analyze local market’s demand

You can still get a lot of contracts if you don’t have a lot of health insurance companies in your area, as many people get NEMT services from the Medicaid program. You can also get service agreements from other non-medical institutions such as nursing homes.

Though none of these options may be viable if your company is located in an area that has a lack of patients or available contracts. You could try starting a medical transportation business in other states where your odds of acquiring clients are better.

4. Know whether your staff is adequately trained

Most NEMT businesses transport older adults that require special care. To make sure that their needs are taken care of, you need to train your staff to be diligent during trips. Your staff might want to drive in a way that keeps the client’s comfort in mind.

Doing these things will establish trust between you and your client, allowing them to feel confident in recommending you to their contacts. All of this is made possible by a team that is trained best to carry out a contract.

Future Prospects for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation

New non-emergency medical transportation providers ought to have a hard time in the foreseeable future as the market NEMT becomes saturated. This is because almost all medical transportation contracts may be distributed among a select few providers due to their reputation.

To penetrate the market a new NEMT business must find ways to innovate and build trust with its clients rapidly. Existing NEMT providers might also have to do the same to protect their chances of growth and customer retention.

Hospitals might also start rolling out their own NEMT services if they do not find any suitable long-term potential partners. This is why you must capitalize on any new opportunity that presents itself before it is too late. 

How Does Upper Make Route Planning a Breeze for Transportation Businesses?

An average day in a business that performs multiple vehicle trips is very hectic. This stressful work process can lead to many areas for improvement being overlooked. Using the automated processes of Upper takes away most of the stresses associated with this line of work.

Features such as route scheduling can truly be lifesavers for an NEMT business, as it lets you rest easy knowing that your transport routes have been planned in advance. Upper can truly make all the difference for a medical transportation business because it gives your crew the most efficient to follow.

The best part is that Upper gives you the ability to create these highly optimized routes within minutes at whim. This unparalleled brilliance from Upper is what makes it essential for any business that is associated with transportation.

Dropping Off

The non emergency medical transportation industry is one that is vulnerable to a lot of fluctuating factors such as demand and transportation cost. This forces them to tread carefully and keep implementing new methods to attract some new clients to their transportation service.

The good thing is that once you have a solid client base, you can have a stable income that allows you to experiment with new ways to reduce cost or boost profits. While these ways to increase profitability are few and far between, they do exist. 

One of these ways is using Upper route planner to take care of all your routing needs. It will not only save you hours of time spent in planning and optimization, but also gives you access to a whole host of innovative features. It is best to try it yourself with Upper’s 7-day free trial.