Non Emergency Medical Transport Insurance

As a nonemergency medical transport (NEMT) business, you provide a critical service, giving individuals rides to and from pharmacies, hospitals and similar establishments that provide health care services. This is especially important for those who are otherwise unable to transport themselves to their appointments (e.g., the elderly, the visually impaired and those with disabilities), ensuring they have access to the care they need. Having a comprehensive Non Emergency Medical Transport Insurance policy is necessary due to your daily risks.

Non emergency medical transport businesses have many risks such as: motor vehicle accidents, patient handling concerns and employee injuries are all significant exposures that must be accounted for in order to prevent costly claims. The list below provides an overview of the risks you face —helping you identify potential blind spots in your risk management and insurance programs.

GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. provides exactly the expertise you need for your NEMT business.  We have the right business auto insurance plan for your commercial automobiles.  PLUS we can deliver the strategies, tools and resources that will help you manage your transportation and fleet industry risks, control workers’ compensation claim costs, advance safety and boost employee morale.

Non Emergency Transportation Insurance Program:

Commercial Auto Liability: 

Because NEMT businesses rely on vehicles to transport patients, collisions and similar auto liability exposures are major concerns. Accidents are unpredictable but may be caused by distracted driving, driver fatigue, driver inexperience, inclement weather and similar factors. And just one accident can lead to multiple injury and property damage claims depending on the size of the vehicle you use and the number of passengers you have on board at the time of the crash.

Property Damage to Company Vehicles:

 NEMT businesses require a number of specialized vehicles—including wheelchair-accessible buses, vans, minibuses and minivans—to carry out their operations. As a result, property damage to company vehicles from an accident can be particularly costly losses. Your business may transport individuals on a daily basis, sometimes in metropolitan areas with dense traffic, which can increase the likelihood of an accident. Further compounding the issue, drivers for NEMT businesses don’t always have experience driving commercial motor vehicles, meaning you may have to lean on in-house training programs and proactively address poor driver behaviors when it comes to accident prevention.

Professional Liability:

Professional liability is a considerable concern for NEMT business and can stem from mistakes, omissions of care and other forms of negligence. You may be transporting individuals with preexisting health issues who are especially susceptible to injury. Furthermore, your staff is responsible for ensuring passengers are secured using the proper safety devices (e.g., seat belts and wheelchair locks). Following an accident, your business could be held responsible for passenger injuries, especially if an error was made when securing them. Additionally, any drivers and passenger assistants you hire may have to administer emergency health services during transport and require thorough first-aid training as a result. Patient privacy and sexual abuse are also areas of concern, as NEMT staff often have access to sensitive medical information and interact with patients in private settings.

Workers Compensation Insurance:

 Any time one of your employees is injured on the job, your organization could be subjected to a workers’ compensation claim. Common sources of on-the-job accidents for NEMT businesses include auto accidents, sprains, strains, falls, harmful substances and bloodborne pathogens. Normal, everyday tasks related to loading and securing patients, driving to and from a destination, and working closely with individuals with communicable illnesses can lead to claims and, in turn, increased costs for your business.

General Liability Insurance for NEMT:

 While visitors to your facility—if you have one—will be limited, there are a number of general liability issues to keep in mind. If you have a facility, slip, trip and fall hazards will be some of the most common sources of liability. For those without a facility, patience assistance is a key area of liability concern, as those in your care could injure themselves when traveling to a health care facility. In fact, NEMT businesses typically transport individuals who require specialized care and may be prone to injuries when entering or exiting the vehicle. Something as simple as an uneven surface can lead to a costly insurance claim following an incident.

Our Non Emergency Medical Transport Insurance Tools Will Put You in the Driver’s Seat!

Our agency can help you build solid loss control and safety programs to help you stay on top of your biggest risk management and compliance challenges, such as:

Risk Management Techniques for Commercial Auto Insurance

One of the best things you can do to control your California commercial automobile insurance premiums is to implement risk management techniques for controlling the frequency of accidents. Improving your drivers’ performance can make a big difference: A study by the U.S. Department of Transportation revealed that 90 percent of all collisions were due to driver action, attitude, and behavior. Making your drivers safer and purchasing dependable vehicles can affect both the frequency and severity of accidents, ultimately lowering your premiums. Some steps to take include the following:

• Select good drivers. Conduct background checks and request regular motor vehicle driving records.
• Provide driver safety training on a regular basis, both at hire and as a refresh, ensuring that both new and seasoned employees are properly prepared.
• Train employees on reporting a loss immediately after a crash.
• Monitor drivers to ensure their best performance.

While your company’s level of risk is a factor that affects the premium you pay for automobile insurance, that amount is also affected by factors that you cannot directly control.

Description of NEMT Operations

Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) service providers are specialty transportation providers that take people (i.e., patients) to and from scheduled doctor’s visits, long term treatment appointments (e.g., dialysis, mental health treatment, chemotherapy, or physical therapy), preventative care appointments, pharmacies, and other routine health care services. This type of transportation is used by persons who are not otherwise able to transport themselves to their medical appointments.

NEMT service complements ambulance service, which provides medical transportation to people primarily on an emergency basis, although an ambulance service may also be used to provide NEMT service to people requiring specialized medical support. For information on transporting patients in ambulances, see Business Link Report BL-20-06, Ambulance Services.

Medicaid recipients are the largest user of NEMT services. Under Medicaid, all States receiving Federal Medicaid funds must assure that Medicaid beneficiaries have transportation that allows them to access medical appointments or other Medicaid-approved services. In fiscal year 1999, approximately $2 billion was spent on NEMT services by the federal government for Medicaid recipients. A number of other federally-financed programs also provide transportation benefits for the young, old, infirm, or disabled, but the expenditures for these programs are dwarfed by Medicaid.

Providers of NEMT services vary by State and may include public transit agencies or private service providers. Private providers may be operated as for-profit or non-profit entities. Providers may contract directly with the entity responsible for paying for the service, or with a transportation brokerage or other organization hired to oversee the delivery of the service.

Get Your Business Insurance Quote Today!

We are a multi-faceted Business Insurance Agency that handles a wide variety of policies of almost any scale for many different professions and establishments.  Our team has the experience and knowledge to help you, your organization or business be secure and protected.

We have many commercial insurance policies to choose from:

If You Think This Sounds Too Good To Be True, Here Is What Just A Few Of Our Clients Have To Say about their Commercial Auto Insurance:

GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. Your Trusted Business Insurance Experts

At GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. we will do the work for you to ensure you have the best protection plan for your Non Emergency Medical Transportation automobiles.  Not only that, but as you can see, we will go the extra mile to make sure your business is protected from the inside-out. 

Located in Turlock, CA we have offices throughout California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond.

To put the GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. experts to work for you, simply fill out the Protection Savings Form above or call our office today at 1-888-991-2929 to learn more about GDI’s Exclusive California Non Emergency Medical Transportion Insurance Program!