- Open Enrollment for 2027
- Oct 15 – Dec 7
- Join, switch or drop a plan
- New coverage starts
- Jan 1, 2027
- If the plan gets your request by Dec 7
- Annual Notice of Change
- Sept 30
- Your plan’s 2027 changes, sent by this date
- MA Open Enrollment
- Jan 1 – Mar 31
- Already in a plan? One more chance to switch
How do Medicare Advantage transportation benefits work?
Medicare Advantage plans must cover everything Original Medicare covers, and they can add extras. The 2027 Medicare & You handbook lists rides to doctor visits among the extras some plans may cover, alongside vision, hearing and dental care, and says these benefits are generally limited, so check with the plan to find out exactly what is covered. Plans can also offer additional benefits designed for people with certain chronic illnesses, and Special Needs Plans exist for people with both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNPs) and for people with certain chronic conditions (C-SNPs).
Original Medicare is different. It covers ground ambulance transportation when traveling in any other vehicle could endanger your health, but not routine rides to a scheduled appointment. If you are deciding between Original Medicare and an Advantage plan, our guide to what Medicare covers for transportation walks through both.
What do Medicare Advantage ride benefits usually include?
- Trip count: a set number of one-way trips per plan year. The number varies widely from plan to plan.
- Eligible destinations: plan-approved medical appointments. Some plans add stops such as the pharmacy; others do not, so ask.
- Distance limit: some plans cap the miles per one-way trip or only cover rides within a set area.
- Booking process: often through a transportation company the plan contracts with, by phone or app, with advance notice.
How does DachiPlus fit in?
DachiPlus is a New York Medicaid transportation provider serving Nassau and Suffolk County. Medicare Advantage plans arrange rides through their own transportation vendors, and whether DachiPlus can take a trip under your plan depends on that vendor. Before you book, call (516) 754-7777 with your plan name and member ID and we will check your plan. If the plan can't send the trip to us, book it through the plan's vendor so it counts against your benefit, or ride with us as private pay; you can see the fare before you book with our cost estimator.
The allowance is counted in one-way trips, not journeys
This is the detail that most often causes a Medicare Advantage transportation benefit to run out earlier than the member expected. Plans that include transportation typically grant a fixed number of one-way trips per plan year, and a round trip to an appointment consumes two of them. A member reading "24 trips" reasonably hears two dozen appointments; in practice it is twelve, and fewer still if any of them involve a stop on the way.
Two related rules are worth checking at the same time: whether unused trips carry over into the next plan year, and which destinations count. If the benefit only covers trips to in-network providers, a visit to a specialist outside the network may be a sound medical decision and still not be a covered ride.
Booking through the wrong channel is the expensive mistake
Plans that offer rides usually arrange them through a designated transportation vendor and expect the trip to be booked through that channel, often with a day or more of notice. Telephoning a transport company directly and hoping to claim afterwards generally does not work: if the trip was not authorized through the plan's process, it does not count against the allowance and it is not reimbursed, which leaves the member holding a private-pay charge they did not expect. Book through the plan first, every time, even when a direct call would be quicker.
If you hold both Medicare and Medicaid (dual-eligible, including D-SNP members), ask the plan which trips its ride benefit covers and which should be booked as Medicaid rides through MAS at 1-844-666-6270. Getting that answer before the year starts avoids using up plan trips on rides Medicaid would have handled, or the reverse.
Where the answer actually lives
The document to read is the Evidence of Coverage, not the marketing summary. Look for the supplemental benefits section, where transportation appears with its trip count, notice requirement, destination limits and the vendor's telephone number. The Summary of Benefits tells you whether the benefit exists; the Evidence of Coverage tells you how it behaves. For 2027, your plan will send the Evidence of Coverage, or a notice telling you how to get it, by October 15, 2026. If you cannot find your copy, the member services number on the back of your plan card can send one, and DachiPlus can help you read it when you call.
Before you choose a 2027 plan: dates for Nassau and Suffolk members
- October 15 to December 7, 2026: Open Enrollment. You can join, switch or drop a Medicare Advantage Plan, or switch to Original Medicare. The change takes effect January 1, 2027, as long as the plan gets your request by December 7.
- By September 30: Annual Notice of Change. Your plan sends this notice listing changes in coverage, costs and more that start in January. Read the transportation line, because the trip count, mileage limits and ride vendor can change from one year to the next. If you did not get it, contact your plan.
- Compare plans. From October 1, 2026 you can compare 2027 plans, including their extra benefits, at Medicare.gov/plan-compare.
- January 1 to March 31, 2027: Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment. If you are already in a Medicare Advantage Plan, you can switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan or go back to Original Medicare and join a separate drug plan. The change starts on the first day of the month after the plan gets your request.
- Free, unbiased help. HIICAP, New York's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, gives free Medicare counseling and is not connected to any insurance company. Call 1-800-701-0501 and name your county (Nassau or Suffolk) to reach the local program. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).
What if my Medicare Advantage plan is ending?
Medicare health plans can decide not to take part in Medicare for the coming year. If yours does, coverage under the plan ends after December 31, and the plan sends you a letter explaining your options. You can choose another plan during Open Enrollment, and you also get a Special Enrollment Period: when a plan's contract with Medicare is not renewed, you can switch to another plan from December 8, 2026 to the last day of February 2027.
If you do not join another Medicare Advantage Plan before your plan ends, you are enrolled in Original Medicare, which has no routine ride benefit. If rides to dialysis, chemotherapy or other regular treatment matter to you, compare replacement plans and their transportation benefit before your current plan ends on December 31.
What should I ask my Medicare Advantage plan?
Ask these before you enroll, and again when your Annual Notice of Change arrives:
- How many one-way trips does my plan cover in 2027, and does a round trip count as two?
- Is there a mileage cap per trip, or a limit on how far from home a ride can go?
- Which company administers the rides, and what number do I call to book?
- How far ahead do I need to book, and can I set up standing rides for regular treatment such as dialysis?
- Do rides to the pharmacy count, or only rides to medical appointments?
- Can a caregiver ride along, and can the vendor send a wheelchair-accessible vehicle if I need one?
- Do unused trips carry over, and what happens if I run out before the year ends?
- Is my plan continuing in Nassau or Suffolk County for 2027, and did anything about the ride benefit change?
DachiPlus does not recommend specific plans. For help comparing them, call HIICAP or 1-800-MEDICARE. If your plan's rides don't fit a trip, our private-pay option is there, and Medicaid members can read how Medicaid and Medicare rides differ in New York.