The short answer
Federal rules make state Medicaid programs assure transportation to providers. Beyond that, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 for volunteer drivers and the flight charities for long trips.
Federal regulations require state Medicaid agencies to assure necessary transportation for clients to and from providers — ask your plan how to book non-emergency medical transportation.
American Cancer Society Road To Recovery gives free rides with trained volunteer drivers; call 1-800-227-2345 well in advance because coordinating a ride can take several business days.
Corporate Angel Network arranges free flights on business and commercial aircraft; eligibility is not based on financial need, but you must be ambulatory. Call (914) 328-1313.
Mercy Medical Angels provides free ground transport, gas cards, commercial airfare and volunteer flights: 757-318-9174, or request at travel.mercymedical.org.
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The full explanation.
Start with the coverage you may already have
If you have Medicaid, you may already have a rides benefit and not know it. Federal regulations require state Medicaid agencies to say in their state plan that they will assure necessary transportation for clients to and from providers. This is called non-emergency medical transportation, or NEMT.
How it works varies a lot. States may pay for it as an administrative expense, or as an optional service. Many do both. In practice that can mean a booked van, a taxi, a bus pass, or mileage reimbursement for a family member who drives you. Most states use a broker. Most also require you to book a set number of days ahead.
Ask your Medicaid plan or state agency two questions today. What is the phone number to book a ride? And how many days in advance do I have to call? Find your state agency in the directory on Medicaid.gov.
If you are on Medicare, Original Medicare generally does not pay for routine rides to appointments. Some Medicare Advantage plans include a transportation benefit. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage, or call the number on your card and ask specifically about non-emergency transportation.
Volunteer drivers
Road To Recovery is the American Cancer Society's program of free rides to cancer-related medical appointments. Trained volunteer drivers give the rides. Availability depends on whether there are volunteers in your area, so the answer is local.
Here is the practical detail that matters. ACS says it can take several business days to coordinate a ride. So call 1-800-227-2345 well in advance of your appointment. That line is answered around the clock. The same call will tell you what else exists near you, if Road To Recovery is not running in your county.
Long trips and flights
If your treatment center is in another state, there are charities that fly cancer patients free.
Corporate Angel Network arranges free travel on business and commercial aircraft. It serves cancer patients, and bone marrow and stem cell donors and recipients, traveling for treatment, clinical trials or second opinions. Two things make it unusual. Eligibility is not based on financial need. And patients may travel as often as necessary. You do have to be ambulatory and not require medical assistance while traveling. Call (914) 328-1313.
Mercy Medical Angels provides free transportation assistance for people traveling for medical care. It covers the whole journey, not just the flight: ground transport, gas cards, commercial airfare nationwide, and volunteer pilot flights in the Mid-Atlantic. Call 757-318-9174 or start a request at travel.mercymedical.org.
Both need lead time and paperwork from your treating clinician. Ask your oncology office who signs travel forms before you apply.
Grants that pay for the driving you do yourself
- Blood Cancer United, formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, runs travel and urgent-need grants covering treatment-related transportation. Its local financial assistance grants can also go toward transportation. Patient Financial Assistance team: (877) 557-2672. Information Specialists: (800) 955-4572.
- CancerCare offers limited financial assistance for cancer-related costs. That includes transportation for some patients. Its A Helping Hand database is searchable by need and location. Call 800-813-HOPE (4673).
- Some charitable foundations run travel funds by diagnosis. Ask each one whether a travel fund is open for yours.
Local help, which is often the fastest
- Dial 211 from any phone. It is free and confidential. Your local United Way service keeps a list of ride programs, community shuttles and gas-card funds that most hospitals do not have.
- If you are 65 or older, call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. It connects you to your Area Agency on Aging. That agency usually runs or funds medical transportation for older adults.
- Ask your treatment center's social worker what the hospital itself provides. Many cancer centers hold gas cards, parking validation and rideshare vouchers that are never advertised.
- NCI's Cancer Information Service, 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), gives a national view of what exists near you.
Before your next appointment
Tell your oncology team plainly that transport is a problem. It changes what they can do for you. They may cluster appointments on one day. They may move infusions to a closer site. They may switch you to an oral drug, where that is medically reasonable. Or they may write the letter a ride program needs.
The system treats missed appointments as a scheduling problem. Your cancer treats them as a medical problem. Say it out loud early, and let someone else solve it.
Sources
- Medicaid.gov — Assurance of Transportation (non-emergency medical transportation)
- American Cancer Society — Road To Recovery
- American Cancer Society — Programs and Resources to Help With Cancer-Related Expenses
- National Cancer Institute — Contact NCI, Cancer Information Service
- Corporate Angel Network
- Mercy Medical Angels
- Blood Cancer United — Financial support
- CancerCare — Financial assistance
- 211.org
- Eldercare Locator
Words to know
Tap any term to see what it means.
Common questions
What if I can't get to treatment?
You're not alone, and it's worth asking for help early. Some cancer nonprofits offer free rides or volunteer drivers, and hospitals often know local programs. Ask your care team's social worker or navigator about options.
What kinds of help exist?
Depending on where you live, help may include volunteer driver programs, free or discounted rides, gas cards or travel assistance for longer trips, and help using public transportation.
Does insurance cover rides?
Medicaid may cover non-emergency medical transportation for people who qualify, and some Medicare Advantage plans offer transportation benefits. Check with your plan about what's covered.
Who can help me find rides?
A hospital social worker or patient navigator is often the best place to start. You can also call 1-800-4-CANCER or a national cancer nonprofit's free helpline.
Questions to ask your doctor
Being prepared helps you get the most out of your appointments. Save or print these questions.
Tap a question to save it to your list (kept on this device).
Your next step
Your care team's answer depends on your treatment — ask them directly.
Speak With Trained Specialists & Human Navigators
Cancer Explained provides educational guidance, but does not replace trained specialists, social workers, or your medical team.
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Access emotional counseling, family support groups, and mental health resources.
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Locate copay assistance foundations, grant programs, and lodging/travel support.
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Where to get help with this, by name
A hospital social worker or financial navigator is the best first call if you have one. If you do not, these organisations help at no cost to you.
- Patient Advocate Foundation — (800) 532-5274. Case managers take on insurance appeals, denials and medical debt with you. Free.
- TotalAssist (Patient Advocate Foundation's copay programme, merged with the PAN Foundation in 2026) — 866-512-3861. Help with medication copays, coinsurance and deductibles, insurance premiums, and office-visit and administration charges on the day of treatment, across nearly 150 conditions.
- CancerCare — 800-813-HOPE (4673). Oncology social workers, free counselling and support groups. Limited financial help with transport, home care, child care and lodging for people in active treatment who meet their income guidelines — funding is first-come, first-served, so call to ask what is open.
- Triage Cancer — 424-258-4628. Free legal and financial navigation: insurance, employment rights, disability.
- Blood Cancer United (formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) — (800) 955-4572. Information Specialists answer questions on treatment, insurance and financial problems.
- HealthCare.gov — 1-800-318-2596. For questions about the external review process — the independent review your insurer is required by law to accept.
Your state Department of Insurance regulates insurers and takes consumer complaints. On Medicare, your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) gives free one-to-one counselling. If a specific drug is the problem, ask the manufacturer about its patient assistance programme.
Phone numbers checked 31 July 2026. Programmes and eligibility change — if a number has moved, please tell us.
Plain-language explanation of the published sources cited on this page. AI-assisted, source-checked, not clinician-reviewed.
Sources last checked: 2026-07-31 what this meansLast updated: 2026-08-11Next planned review: 2027-07-31
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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