Is PPEC transportation free, and who rides with my child?

By Superhero Kids PPEC care team · Updated October 19, 2026 · 7 min read

AI-made picture of a smiling girl in a wheelchair on the lift of an unmarked white van, with the driver beside her. Not a photo of anyone at Superhero Kids.

For children with Florida Medicaid, PPEC transportation is covered by Medicaid's transportation benefit, which is separate from the PPEC benefit. Children under 21 owe no Medicaid copayment, so there is no bill for the ride. Florida's rules require the PPEC to provide an escort when that benefit is used. Superhero Kids works with a transportation partner and coordinates the rides.

You may have heard that rides are part of the PPEC benefit. That is not quite right, and the difference matters when a case manager or a health plan asks. This page explains who pays for the ride, what the rules say about the escort, and what to tell us before the first pickup.

Talk with your child's doctor about whether your child can ride safely in a van, and what equipment must travel along.

At a glance

Rides are not part of the PPEC benefit. They are paid through Florida Medicaid's non-emergency transportation benefit ¹².
Children under 21 pay no Medicaid copayment, so the ride costs the family nothing ²³.
Florida's Medicaid PPEC policy requires the PPEC to provide an escort whenever Medicaid transportation is used, and the escort's seat is free ¹².
Superhero Kids coordinates the rides with a transportation partner. Call us to ask whether your address is on a route.
A parent signs a daily log that shows when the child was picked up and returned home ¹.
Federal law says every state Medicaid program must make sure people can get to and from their care ⁴.

Is PPEC transportation really free?

For a child with Florida Medicaid, there is no bill for the ride. Two Medicaid benefits work together here. The PPEC benefit pays for the care at the center, and Florida Medicaid lists "transportation services" as not covered as part of PPEC ¹. The ride is a separate Medicaid service called non-emergency transportation ².

Medicaid charges $1 a trip for that service, but children under 21 are exempt from Medicaid copayments ²³. So the family pays nothing for the ride. The PPEC service itself has no copayment or coinsurance either ¹. Read does Florida Medicaid pay for PPEC? for the full picture on cost.

Why does the wording matter? If a health plan or a case manager says "PPEC does not include rides," they are right. The ride is still covered, just by a different part of Medicaid. Superhero Kids coordinates it with a transportation partner, so the difference is paperwork for us, not for you. If your child does not have Medicaid, call us and ask.

Who rides with my child?

Florida's Medicaid PPEC policy answers this. In the policy's words, a PPEC must provide "an appropriate escort for travel to and from the PPEC when Florida Medicaid non-emergency transportation is provided" ¹. Medicaid's transportation rules agree. A child riding to a PPEC must have an escort when needed to protect the child's health and safety ². Ask us how it works for your child.

The escort is never the driver or an employee of the ride company ². The rules say the van picks up the escort at the center first, then the child. On the way home, the van drops the child off before it takes the escort back to the center ².

Medicaid cannot charge you for the escort's seat. Any child under 21 may have one escort ride along at no charge ². One child and one escort ride free; the ride company may charge for extra riders ².

How does PPEC transportation work day to day?

Here is the path a ride follows under the rules.

Step	What happens	Source
1. You give us the address	Tell us where your child would be picked up and dropped off; we tell you whether it is on a route	Call us
2. We coordinate the ride	Through your child's Medicaid plan, or through Medicaid's transportation broker if your child is not in a plan, with our transportation partner	²
3. Pickup	The van collects the escort at the center, then picks up your child	²
4. The PPEC day starts	Medicaid counts the PPEC day from the moment your child is picked up	¹
5. Drop-off	Your child is returned to the pickup point first; then the escort goes back to the center	²
6. You sign the log	The log shows the pickup and return times for the day	¹

A few more rules protect you. Ride companies cannot make you book more than three business days ahead ². They cannot cap the number of Medicaid trips a child takes, and they cannot refuse a ride because of the distance from your home ². Pickup windows depend on the route, so call us to ask what yours would be.

Can a wheelchair, oxygen or a feeding pump ride along?

Medicaid matches the vehicle to your child's needs. The transportation rules list wheelchair vans and stretcher vans among the covered vehicles ². They also say the type of ride must be medically appropriate for the child's physical condition, as judged by a licensed health care professional ².

The rules do not name every piece of equipment, so the plan is made child by child. Talk with your child's doctor about what must travel with your child, then tell us before the first pickup. We will ask for the right vehicle, and we will tell you how the escort works for your child.

Which towns are on the routes?

Call us and ask whether your address is on a route. Families come to Superhero Kids from West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Wellington and Royal Palm Beach. Others come from Palm Beach Gardens, Greenacres, Lake Worth Beach, Riviera Beach, Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach. We do not print routes or pickup windows here.

For the area around the center, read PPEC in Palm Beach County. Superhero Kids is in Boynton Beach, and it is the largest PPEC in Palm Beach County, with 82 licensed seats.

Call (561) 877-2152. Open Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 7 pm. We return calls within 15 minutes during those hours.

Questions parents ask

Is PPEC transportation free, or will I get a bill later?

There is no bill for a child with Florida Medicaid. The ride is a Medicaid non-emergency transportation service, and children under 21 are exempt from Medicaid copayments ²³. The escort's seat is free too ².

Can the van pick my child up from school?

Call us and ask. Tell us the school's address and schedule, and we will tell you what can be arranged for your child.

Can I ride with my child?

Ask us before the first trip. Medicaid's rule lets one escort ride free with a child, and on PPEC trips the rules require the center to provide that escort ¹². The ride company may charge for riders beyond one child and one escort ².

Does the ride count as part of the PPEC day?

Yes. Medicaid counts the PPEC day from the time your child is picked up until your child is returned home ¹. A Medicaid full day is five to twelve hours ¹. Florida law allows a child to be at a PPEC for up to 12 hours in any 24-hour period ⁵.

Does the center give rides to doctor appointments too?

We coordinate the rides to and from Superhero Kids. For other medical visits, Medicaid's transportation benefit still applies. Your child's Medicaid plan, or Medicaid's transportation broker, arranges those rides ².

What does the daily log record?

Every day, a parent or guardian signs a log. It shows the time your child arrived and left, or, when an escort brings your child, the time of pickup and return home ¹. Medicaid requires this log in your child's file.

Keep reading

Sources

Florida Medicaid, Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Services Coverage Policy, February 2018, adopted in Rule 59G-4.260 (sections 1.4, 2.3, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.2). Read October 19, 2026. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?ID=59G-4.260
Florida Medicaid, Non-Emergency Transportation Services Coverage Policy, November 2019, adopted in Rule 59G-4.330 (sections 1.2, 2.3, 3.2, 4.2 and 7.2). Read October 19, 2026. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?ID=59G-4.330
Florida Statutes, section 409.9081(3) (no copayments for children under 21). Read October 19, 2026. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/409.9081
Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 431.53 (assurance of transportation). Read October 19, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/431.53
Florida Statutes, section 400.914 (PPEC standards, including transportation services, and the 12-hour limit). Read October 19, 2026. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/400.914