To be eligible for Trancare, one must be on a DSHS Medicaid ID card. If you are eligible, Trancare can help provide non-emergency transportation to medical appointments at no cost to you. There are a few exceptions: clients receiving a GAU coupon do not qualify for transportation to dental and/or mental health appointments (except for emergent dental care), clients receiveing a DASA coupon do not qualify for transportation.
When calling Trancare you will be asked to answer some routine screening questions. *Please alert Trancare of any address or phone number changes that have occured* We do ask that you have the following items ready when calling Trancare:
your DSHS Medical ID card (you may asked to provide information from the card)
your complete pick-up address
the name, complete address and phone number of the medical provider
your exact appointment date and time
the type of medical appointment (to help us determine if you are eligible)
your return time
Trancare does allow for one support person to accompany you on your ride. When you call Trancare you will be told an estimated time for pick-up. For shared rides you may be asked to be ready earlier than you expected. Note that unexpected delays may occur due to traffic congestion or weather conditions.
When requesting transportation, Trancare will determine the type of transportation most suited to your abilities. We locate the lowest-cost option and arrange the most appropriate provider. The most common types of transportation include:
public bus tickets and passes
gas vouchers
volunteer mileage reimbursement
passenger vehicle/taxi
wheelchair van
trains or coaches
If you are unable to access public transportation, a Trancare Customer Service Representative (CSR) may request that you provide documentation from your doctors office stating that you are unable to access the public bus system, at which time you could be eligible to access a different means of transportation.
To allow Trancare time to schedule your ride, please call Trancare at least two working days before a scheduled medical appointment. CSR's are avaliable 8am - 4:30pm, Monday-Friday. The CSR will ask you to answer some routine questions and then will provide you with an estimated pick-up time. Please have all requested information mentioned above ready to help us to serve you promptly. We strive to get you on and off the phone quickly and efficiently. If you need to cancel a ride, please call us at least two hours before the scheduled pick-up time. An after hours service is avaliable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for questions and/or cancellations. This service is for appointments that have already been scheduled.
If a medical service is not avaliable in your community, we can arrange transportation for this service in another location. It must be pre-authorized by your local doctor. Trancare has created a referral form that has been sent to a number of facilities for your convenience. We will request that you contact the office of the doctor that is referring you to another location and ask them to fax Trancare a copy of the referral. We need to receive the referral at least 2 days in advance to guarantee that transportation will be avaliable. Please keep in mind Trancare is open 8-4:30pm, Monday-Friday. We are closed every weekend and all Federal Holidays. If you send information during the weekend we can not guarantee that you will be able to get transportation set up for appointments early in the week.
Depending upon the time of the appointment, Trancare volunteers might be avaliable. If the appointment was scheduled for an early morning, Trancare would be able to provide clients with a fuel voucher a day earlier, and in some cases housing. This is a covered service which is utilized by evaluating the situation and determining if a client would need housing. On most occasions, CSR's would request that your doctor send over a request for housing, which would explain that due to a medical condition, you would need to travel a day earlier and rest before an appointment.
If you have experienced a pre-mature labor and your child has been flown out of area, (for example: to University of Washington Childrens Hospital in Seattle, or Deaconess in Spokane), Trancare can help provide either transportation or fuel for the mother to see her child. CSR's would request that a Registered Nurse (RN) send confirmation of an anticipated release date. Housing is also avaliable for mothers who are visiting their child. We are contracted with Ronald McDonald House in Spokane, Seattle, and Portland.
The benefits of calling Trancare first; (depending upon the need of the client) CSR's could determine the best mode of transportation for the client. Trancare CSR's broker out trips for ambulatory clients to Apple City Taxi, Ballard, Link, Linkplus, Chelan Cab, North Central Washington Transportation, Provide a Ride, and Wenatchee Mobility . Wheelchair clients are also brokered to Ballard, Linkplus, North Central Washington Transportation, Provide a Ride, and Wenatchee Mobility. Calling Trancare would guarantee that the cost of the transportation is going to be billed at no-cost to you.
The benefits of calling Trancare first; (depending upon the need of the client) CSR's could determine the best mode of transportation for the client. Trancare CSR's broker out trips for ambulatory clients to Okanogan County Senior Bus, Okanogan County Senior Services, Okanogan Valley Transportation, and Omak cab. Wheelchair trips are brokered out to Okanogan Valley Transportation,and Omak cab. Calling Trancare would guarantee that the cost of the transportation is going to be billed at no-cost to you.
