Missing a dialysis treatment is not like missing a haircut. When your kidneys cannot filter your blood, the machine does it for you, three times a week, on a fixed schedule. So when your Medicaid ride does not show up on treatment day, it is a medical problem. This page is written for Georgia Medicaid members, because Georgia's system has its own rules, its own broker, and its own paper trail. Knowing them is the difference between being stranded and being prepared.
What to Do in the Next 15 Minutes
First, call the broker's where's-my-ride line now. Georgia's NEMT policy documents say the call centers run 24/7 for those calls and hospital discharges. Do not wait twenty more minutes hoping the driver is around the corner. Second, write down everything: the exact time you called, who you spoke to, what time they promise the driver, and when the driver actually arrives. Third, call your dialysis center and tell them you are delayed because of transportation. Loop in the social worker, who documents transport problems. Fourth, if you miss treatment, tell your care team that same day.
How Georgia's Medicaid Rides Are Supposed to Work
Since April 1, 2025, one company, Verida, is the single broker for all five of Georgia's Medicaid NEMT regions, replacing Modivcare. You book through the broker, and non-urgent rides must be booked 3 business days in advance. After your appointment you call the broker to request pickup; the provider has one hour to return. Drivers wait 10 minutes, and you should expect shared rides. A missed Monday session cannot be made up on Tuesday, so your written log matters.
Georgia's Own Rules Acknowledge This Happens
Georgia's NEMT policy manual includes a formal exception category for transportation to appointments made to replace appointments missed because of failed transportation arranged by the broker. The system knows this happens often enough to write it into policy. Missed and late broker rides causing missed dialysis appointments have also been documented in national reporting and in litigation against brokers elsewhere, including a California lawsuit naming missed dialysis appointments specifically. That proves the pattern is real, not that every broker ride fails.
The Private-Pay Backup Option
Some patients solve this by keeping a private-pay ride as a backup, or switching entirely. It is not free and not for everyone. The people who use it tend to be patients who are not Medicaid-eligible, patients who could not book in time because of the 3-day rule, patients who got stood up, and families paying for reliability. With private pay you book directly with no broker and no shared routing, and dialysis rides can run as a standing schedule on your regular treatment days.