The Children and Adults Rural Transportation Service (CARTS) provides free door-to-door, non-emergency medical transportation to Columbia County residents.
If you need help getting to a health-related appointment, call us.
The Healthcare Consortium’s Medical Transportation Service is located at
The Healthcare Consortium
325 Columbia Street in Hudson.
The service has a new phone and fax number and can be reached at
(518) 822-8020 or fax (518) 828-1479.
Eligibility and Program Information
Any Columbia County resident with a need for non-emergency medical transportation is eligible to receive this service; there are no other eligibility criteria considered.
The service is “door-to-door,” meaning that a CARTS driver will escort an individual from the threshold of their home or other pickup location to the threshold of a healthcare provider’s office (anyone needing a greater level of assistance should be accompanied by a family member, friend or aide). The service retrieves individuals from any location in Columbia County, and will deliver people to locations throughout the county, but also well beyond it. CARTS regularly provides trips to Albany, Kingston, Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and Sharon, CT, among other locations.
Transportation is scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, so it’s important to contact our office as soon as a medical appointment is made to ensure that your transportation needs can be met. It is not unusual for us to be scheduled two weeks in advance for in-county trips and longer for out-of-county trips, so calling timely is key.
Medicaid Enrollees
CARTS serves both individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid, and those who are not. Those clients who are enrolled in Medicaid must call a company called MAS at 1-855-360-3546 to confirm eligibility for Medicaid transportation and receive prior authorization for the trip. During this call, people are encouraged to request the Healthcare Consortium as the preferred provider. While there is no guarantee that the Healthcare Consortium will provide that trip, making a request for the Healthcare Consortium by name will ensure that we are given the option to do so.
For those clients who are NOT enrolled in Medicaid, rides are provided at no charge, and though donations are always welcome and much appreciated, an inability or unwillingness to make a donation will have no effect on whether a person is given a ride.
Vehicles
CARTS operates a fleet of ten vehicles including sedans, minivans, and a multi-passenger wheelchair accessible minibus, all of which are clean, smoke-free, and very well maintained. The drivers, many of whom have been employed by the Consortium since the program’s inception, are courteous, friendly, and professional.
Meet the Medical Transporation Program Staff
