NEMT in Lorain County: A Practical Guide for Elyria, Avon and Lorain
September 11, 2026
Lorain County has good hospitals and a lot of distance between them. If you are in Wellington and your cardiologist is in Avon, or you are in Vermilion and dialysis is in Elyria three times a week, transportation stops being a detail and starts being the thing the whole week revolves around.
Here is how non-emergency medical transportation works here, and what to sort out before you book.
Where we drive in Lorain County
Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Elyria, Grafton, Kipton, LaGrange, Lorain, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Rochester, Sheffield Lake, Sheffield Village, Vermilion and Wellington.
If you are just outside that list, call anyway. We will tell you plainly whether we can serve you rather than taking a booking we cannot keep.
The facilities we run to most
- Mercy Allen Hospital, Oberlin
- Mercy Lorain Hospital, Lorain
- University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center
- Avon Hospital at the Richard E. Jacobs Campus (Cleveland Clinic)
We also drive from Lorain County into Cleveland regularly, for Cleveland Clinic main campus, University Hospitals, MetroHealth and specialty centers. A Lorain County address does not restrict you to Lorain County care.
What it costs, and who pays
Traditional Ohio Medicaid covers non-emergency medical transportation for eligible members traveling to covered appointments. That is fee-for-service Medicaid, the plan administered directly by the state. We verify eligibility, handle the authorization, and submit the claim. There is nothing for you to pay and nothing for you to file.
We do not bill Medicaid managed care plans or MyCare Ohio. If you are enrolled in one of those, your plan arranges transportation through its own contracted providers.
For private pay, the rates are:
- Sedan transportation: $35 to $75 locally
- Wheelchair transportation: $50 to $100 depending on location
- Broda® Chair and long distance: quoted individually
Not sure which plan you are on? Call 440-468-6976 with your Medicaid ID and we will check before your first trip.
Dialysis in Lorain County
Recurring dialysis is the trip we schedule most. Three times a week, every week, for as long as treatment runs.
The thing that makes it work is a standing schedule rather than fifty individual bookings. We set the recurring trip up once, around your treatment days and times, and it runs. Familiar drivers, the same routine.
Treatment days are also the days you are least able to wait around afterwards. We can typically get a return vehicle to you within 30 minutes of your call once you are finished.
The vehicles
Wheelchair-ramp-equipped vans with a four-point anchor strap system, so your chair stays with you and nobody has to transfer you out of it. Comfortable sedans for passengers who can walk. The Broda® Traversa™ transport chair for passengers who cannot sit upright unsupported, with adjustable tilt, recline and positioning up to 450 lbs.
Bariatric wheelchairs up to 600 lbs are accommodated. Wheelchair rental is available if you need a chair for the trip itself.
Booking, and how much notice
Twenty-four hours is the minimum for a standard trip. Forty-eight to seventy-two is better, particularly for a first appointment or anything with a hard start time.
Have ready:
- Pickup address and the destination, including which entrance
- Appointment date and time
- Your Traditional Ohio Medicaid ID, if that is how the trip is covered
- What you use to get around, and any assistance you would like
Long distance from Lorain
Specialty care does not always stay local. We drive from the Cleveland and Lorain area to Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Sandusky, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati and everywhere in between, and further when needed. Those trips are pre-scheduled and quoted individually.
Getting started
Schedule a trip in Lorain County, or call 440-468-6976. Tell us where you need to be and we will take it from there.
Questions about a ride? Call (440) 468-6976 or request a ride online.