QUEST Integration – Transportation – Interisland Air Transportation

HMSA has partnered with Modivcare to administer the NEMT benefit starting July 1, 2025. For detailed processes please visit: https://www.modivcare.com/facilities/hmsa/

Patients requiring medically necessary services not available on their home island may be referred for care off-island. The requesting provider must submit request for non-emergency transportation at least seven calendar days before any scheduled travel to your appointment so we may make the patient’s transportation arrangements (e.g., if the Travel Date is December 20, then the travel request should be submitted on or before December 13).

How to Request

Interisland

Requests must be submitted through the TripCare website: https://tripcare.modivcare.com/login.

If you are unable to use TripCare, visit: https://www.modivcare.com/facilities/hmsa/.

Out of State

All out of state travel require precertification from HMSA’s Medical Management (MM) department. Do not submit to Modivcare. Once approved, a Care Navigator will be assigned to the case and work with Modivcare for travel. For additional information on how to submit precertification to HMSA go here: https://www.hmsa.com/help-center/submitting-a-precertification-request

All approved air transportation will be arranged on regularly scheduled commercial flights according to the following guidance as set by MedQUEST:

• Flights are available from Mon-Thurs and accommodate appointments ending no later than 2pm.Medical care will not be affected if travel is delayed until the next available flight.
• The member must arrive on island at least two hours prior to the appointment start time.
• The member will be scheduled departure air three hours after the expected completion time of the appointment.

Note: Frequent flyer miles accounts will not be applied to flights booked by HMSA.

Medical Oxygen in Flight

• The request for air transportation must indicate if oxygen is needed and must be received at least one week before the expected date of travel. A prescription for the oxygen also must be provided.
• 72 hours advance notice is required by airlines. Vendor or personal oxygen tanks are not permitted on planes.
• On the day of the flight, the patient must have a letter from the PCP certifying the need for the oxygen, the flow rate per minute and the maximum usage per hour so that oxygen usage can be monitored in flight. The letter also must state that the guardian understands how to regulate and give the appropriate dose of oxygen.
• Patients should contact their oxygen supplier on their island to arrange for a tank to be waiting for them at the destination airport.

Attendants

All attendants need to be noted in Tripcare online request.

• All minor children are required to have an adult attendant.
• An attendant for an adult will be approved only if medically necessary. Attendants for companionship and children accompanying an adult patient will not be approved. If unable to determine based on criteria noted, it will need to be sent to HMSA for further review- please plan and prepare patient for this additional time.
• Any request for 2 or more escorts requires precertification to HMSA’s medical management department in addition to the request being made in Tripcare. Precertification form is located here. Please note review is for T2001, two escorts. Standard requests take 7 days (this does not include the additional 7 days lead time Modivcare needs to book).

Lodging and Meals

Except for costs associated with intentional terminations of pregnancies (ITOPs) HMSA’s QUEST Integration plan will arrange and cover the travel costs (airfare, ground transportation, lodging, and meals) associated with off-island or out-of-state travel due to medical necessity for the member, and an attendant if needed. For travel arrangements associated with ITOPs, refer to QUEST Integration - Abortion (hmsa.com).

In the event that a patient is disenrolled from HMSA’s QUEST Integration plan and enrolled into another QUEST Integration plan, during an acute hospital stay, HMSA’s QUEST Integration plan will continue to cover the patient’s inpatient stay through a change in the level of care or discharge, whichever occurs first. Transportation costs to return the patient and the attendant, if applicable, to the island of residence after discharge will also be covered. Lodging and meals, however, will be the responsibility of the new health plan from the date of enrollment into the new plan.

Meal Allowance

Services Authorized for One Day

A meal allowance not to exceed $15 per day for food. Food may be purchased anywhere, and itemized receipts must be submitted to HMSA’s Plan for QUEST Integration Members for reimbursement. Non-food items will not be reimbursed.

Services Authorized for More Than One Day

A meal allowance not to exceed $30 per day for adults and children over the age of 10 years is allowed for the number of days the member is not in the hospital and can eat orally. For children aged 3-10 years, the allowance is not to exceed $15 a day for food taken orally. For children under the age of 3 years who can eat orally, the allowance will be based on meal and grocery receipts, but no more than $15 a day.

Meal allowances will be made for up to the number of days of travel. Members may shop for groceries or food to eat in the hotel room for several days. Non-food items will not be reimbursed. Members may spend more or less than the indicated allowance, but the reimbursement will not exceed the allowance for the member and will be paid according to itemized receipts submitted for reimbursement. No reimbursement will be given without a receipt.

To request reimbursement, the patient must submit an itemized invoice with receipts for purchased items using Modivcare’s forms located here. Additional guidance and instructions can be found here.

Ground Transportation

On the Air Travel request, please note if Ground transportation arrangements for Neighbor Island patients and the attendant are needed. DO NOT submit separate ground request. Any transportation NOT coordinated by Modivcare will NOT be reimbursed.

Changes to Previously Approved Transportation

Any change to transportation arrangements must be updated in TripCare. Return dates will be changed only when there is a medical reason for an extended stay.

Revision History