Cancer patient transportation on Long Island

For recurring chemo/radiation

Standing orders

Set it once via MAS — no re-booking

With Medicaid

$0

Covered to MSK, Stony Brook, NYU & more

Wheelchair & post-treatment

Accessible

Door-through-door help when you’re fatigued

Long-distance to Manhattan

NYC trips

For specialty cancer centers

What transportation options are available for cancer patients on Long Island?

Long Island cancer patients have several transportation options, depending on their insurance:

• Medicaid NEMT — free for eligible Medicaid members. Arranged through MAS. Covers chemo, radiation, infusion, and related specialist appointments.
• Medicare Advantage transportation benefits — many Part C plans include 24–60 one-way trips per year to medical appointments. See our Medicare Advantage guide.
• Private pay — booked directly with DachiPlus at (516) 754-7777. Same-day availability for urgent appointments.
• Volunteer programs — some cancer organizations and hospitals offer volunteer driver programs for patients without other options. Ask your oncology social worker.

Does Medicaid cover chemotherapy and radiation transportation?

Yes. Per New York State Medicaid NEMT policy, transportation to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, infusion therapy, and related oncology appointments is covered for active Medicaid members. The trip is arranged through MAS at 1-844-666-6270 — the patient pays nothing.

Because cancer treatment schedules are often predictable (e.g., radiation every weekday for six weeks, chemo every other Thursday), these trips are ideal candidates for standing orders, which eliminate the need to call MAS before every trip.

How do I set up recurring rides for chemotherapy or radiation?

Call MAS at 1-844-666-6270 and ask for a standing order for recurring cancer treatment transport. You'll need:

1. Your treatment center's name and address.
2. The treatment schedule (days of the week, appointment time).
3. The estimated duration of the treatment course (e.g., "6 weeks of daily radiation").
4. Your pickup address and any mobility needs.

Request DachiPlus by name when setting up the standing order — driver continuity matters for patients who are fatigued or anxious about appointments.

Your oncology center's social worker or navigator can often help initiate standing orders on your behalf — it's worth asking at your first appointment.

What should I tell DachiPlus when booking cancer treatment transport?

When calling DachiPlus at (516) 754-7777 for cancer treatment transport, please mention:

• That this is an oncology appointment — so we assign an experienced driver.
• Whether you will need a companion (family member or caregiver) to ride along.
• Your mobility status — whether you walk independently, use a cane or walker, or need wheelchair assistance.
• If you tend to be fatigued or nauseous post-treatment, so we can plan the return trip accordingly.
• Whether the appointment has a flexible end time or a specific return pickup window.

Treatment days are not all the same length — book accordingly

The single most useful thing to understand about cancer transport is that the return leg is unpredictable in a way the outbound leg is not. Radiation is usually short and reliably timed, so a scheduled return works well. Infusion is the opposite: bloodwork has to clear before the chair is released, a count can come back low and delay or cancel the session, premedication adds time, and a reaction can extend an appointment by hours. Booking a fixed return pickup for an infusion day is how patients end up stranded in a waiting room having already been discharged.

Use a will-call return for infusion and a scheduled return for radiation, and say which you want rather than accepting the default. It is also worth telling the booking agent the treatment type in general terms — not for clinical reasons, but because "infusion" tells a scheduler to expect a variable finish where "oncology appointment" does not.

Travelling well when treatment leaves you fragile

Comfort on the journey is not a small consideration during a course of chemotherapy, and several things can be arranged in advance that are difficult to fix on the day. Nausea and temperature sensitivity are the common ones: ask for a front seat if motion troubles you, and say if you need the vehicle warmer than usual, since treatment frequently leaves people cold in a way that surprises them. If you are neutropenic, mention it — it is a reason to avoid a shared ride and to expect the vehicle to have been cleaned between passengers.

Plan the first appointment of a cycle differently from the rest. You will not know how a new regimen affects you until you have had it, so arrange a companion for that trip if you can, and treat the return as open-ended even if the schedule suggests otherwise. Patients who felt fine driving themselves to a first infusion are the ones most often caught out on the way home. Once you know your own pattern, the arrangement can settle into something predictable — and at that point a standing order covering the whole cycle removes the booking burden entirely.

Which Long Island cancer centers does DachiPlus serve?

DachiPlus transports patients to and from all major Long Island oncology centers, including:

• Stony Brook Cancer Center (Stony Brook)
• Memorial Sloan Kettering — Commack and Hauppauge locations
• Northwell Health Cancer Institute locations across Nassau and Suffolk
• NYU Winthrop Hospital Cancer Center (Mineola)
• St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center (Smithtown)
• Good Samaritan University Hospital (West Islip)
• Long-distance trips to Memorial Sloan Kettering Manhattan, NYU Langone, and Weill Cornell