Minnesota Glossary of Terms

Abuse: (A) Physical and verbal abuse; the willful infliction of intimidation or injury resulting in physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. (B) Program abuse; recipient and contractor practices that are not medically necessary and consequently result in an unnecessary cost to the Medicaid program; improper or excessive use or treatment (e.g., no shows).

Accident: An unexpected and unfortunate medically important bodily event causing loss or injury to a person. Accidents may involve loss of property (e.g., automobile).

Bariatric Transport: Motorized winch and ramps for loading passengers. Designed to provide safe transportation for people with body weight in excess of standard equipment limitations (800 lbs).

Cancelled Trip: A trip that a recipient cancels prior to the scheduled pick-up time.

Curb-to-Curb Service: Transportation from curb at origin to curb at destination. Includes providing assistance to passengers with entering and exiting the vehicle if necessary.

Destination: The location or point to which a recipient has been authorized to travel to obtain medical services.

Door-to-Door Service: Transportation provided to recipients who need help to move safely from the door of the vehicle to the door of the pick-up point or healthcare location.

Emergency Transportation: A service that includes providing medical care while the recipient is being transported.

Escort: An adult or service animal that accompanies a recipient receiving a ride to provide necessary mobility or personal assistance during the time that transportation and healthcare services are provided.

Excessive Trip Time: Travel time two hours or more over the standard travel time.

Fixed Route: Designated public transportation on which a vehicle is operated along a prescribed route according to a fixed schedule.

Incident: An allegation substantiated by commission records, transportation or medical provider records, and witnesses.

Long Distance Trip: Transportation outside of a recipient’s local medical market for the purpose of receiving healthcare services that are not available in the recipient’s community.

Mass Transit: Public transportation by bus, rail, air, or intra-city bus either publicly or privately owned, which provides general or special service transportation to the public on a regular and continuing basis.

Network of Providers: An entity or group of providers set up by a transportation manager to transport eligible recipients to authorized healthcare appointments.

No Show: (A) A recipient who does not respond within ten minutes of the time the transportation provider arrives at the designated pick-up point and scheduled time and announces his/her presence. (B) A transportation provider who fails to perform agreed services resulting in the recipient missing their appointment, including if the provider does not show up within 15 minutes after the scheduled pick-up time.

One-Way Trip: Transportation of a person from point of origin to destination.

Origin: The location at which the transportation provider is authorized to pick up the recipient at the start of the trip.

Passenger Assistance: Assistance which enables a recipient to walk, enter or exit a vehicle, or transfer from a wheelchair; does not include lifting or carrying the recipient.

Recipients: Individuals covered by Medical Assistance and/or Minnesota Care who do not have any other means of transportation to covered, medically necessary healthcare services and receive NEMT under this program.

Routine Medical Transportation: Prior authorized medical transportation trips that do not have priority status to and/or from a facility where healthcare needs will be met.

Service Animal: A trained guide dog, signal dog, or other animal that provides assistance to an individual based on a documented medical need.

Shared Ride: Transportation, excluding mass transit, for multiple passengers traveling in the same direction with appointments set up within one hour of each other.

Stretcher Service: Service for recipients who cannot be transported in a taxi or wheelchair van but do not require the medical services of an ambulance, and generally cannot use a seat in the vertical position and must use a stretcher during transport. Recipients must be medically stable to be transported by stretcher service.

TTY: Teletype writer.

Urgent Request: An urgent trip is an unscheduled episodic situation in which there is no immediate threat to life or limb, but the recipient must be seen on the day of the request and treatment cannot be delayed until the next day. This may include hospital discharges. Valid requests for a ride to an urgent appointment will be provided in three hours or less.