A will call is a return trip booked without a set pickup time. The rider or facility calls when the appointment ends.
The provider is dispatched at that point and has a fixed window to arrive.
Modivcare windows run 60 minutes in states including Louisiana and Tennessee, 90 minutes in Colorado and New Jersey, and 120 minutes in Massachusetts.
The window can differ inside a single state depending on the health plan.
The main scheduling risk is that the window starts without warning, so operators leave gaps rather than booking back to back.
A will call is a return trip with no set pickup time. The rider or the facility calls when the appointment ends, and the provider then has a fixed window to arrive. Most brokers set that window between 60 and 90 minutes, though the exact number depends on the state and the health plan.
They are most common on dialysis and specialist trips, where appointment length is not fixed.
Why Will Calls Exist
Plenty of medical appointments do not have a predictable end time. A dialysis session can run long when the treatment does not go smoothly, and a specialist who is running behind can push a rider’s finish time by an hour or more. Since nobody can say at booking when the rider will actually be ready, the return leg goes on the board as a will call rather than a scheduled pickup.
Modivcare states the rule in its West Virginia facility guidance: when the return time is not known at the time of the reservation, the return trip is assigned as a will call, and the facility calls when the member is ready (Modivcare West Virginia).
It is one of three standard return options. The other two are a scheduled pickup at a set time, and wait and return, where the driver stays on site for the whole appointment.
How Long You Have to Show Up
The window is set by the broker and the health plan, and it is not the same everywhere. Modivcare publishes a will call window for each state it serves.
| Will Call Window | States |
|---|---|
| 60 minutes | Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee |
| 90 minutes | Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, New York |
| 120 minutes | Massachusetts |
Sources: Louisiana, Colorado, Massachusetts and the corresponding state facility pages.
Modivcare’s member FAQ puts the most common window at one hour, with some plans running 30, 60, or 90 minutes (MyModivcare).
The window can also change inside a single state. In New York the standard is 90 minutes, and trips under Nassau County Department of Social Services Medicaid run on a 60 minute window (Modivcare New York).
Operators running trips under more than one plan need the window recorded per contract.
Where Will Calls Affect the Schedule
A will call affects the trips booked around it more than the trip itself.
A scheduled pickup is a known block that a driver can be routed into and out of. A will call is an open slot with a timer attached, and the timer starts when the phone rings. If a driver is 40 minutes away on another run when the call comes in, a 60 minute window is mostly gone before the driver starts moving.
Three things commonly go wrong:
- Drivers cross the service area repeatedly chasing calls that land at the same time
- A late will call pushes the next scheduled trip, and the delay carries down the board
- The will call goes to voicemail while the window continues to run
On the last point, the window runs from the time the call is placed, not from the time it is answered.
How Operators Plan Around Them
Leave gaps instead of booking back to back. A tightly booked schedule has no room to absorb a will call. Slack in the afternoon costs capacity on paper and returns it in practice.
Track the patterns. Sessions at a given center tend to run a consistent length, so a regular rider’s return time becomes predictable over time even though the trip is booked as unscheduled.
Assign a floater when volume allows. One driver not committed to a fixed route can absorb will calls without disturbing the rest of the board.
Cover the phone during clinic hours. The window is short and it does not pause.
Record the window per contract. Keep the number on the account rather than in someone’s memory.
| Will Call vs. the Other Return Options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Return Type | Pickup Time | Best For | Main Risk |
| Will call | Unknown, rider calls when ready | Dialysis, specialists, anything that runs long | Window starts without warning |
| Scheduled pickup | Set in advance | Appointments with predictable length | Rider waits if the appointment runs over |
| Wait and return | Driver stays on site | Short appointments, high-need riders | Vehicle and driver tied up the whole time |
For short appointments, keeping the driver on site can cost less than sending them away and pulling them back.
Working out your will call coverage?
Pac Biz handles dispatch and call coverage for NEMT providers, including the hours when will calls land.
What to Check on Your Own Accounts
Three things are worth confirming per contract:
- The will call window in minutes, and whether it differs by health plan
- How the broker records arrival time, since that is what a late trip is measured against
- Who is expected to answer when the rider calls, and during which hours
The numbers are published by the brokers, so this is a documentation task rather than a negotiation.
The Short Version
Will calls cannot be put on the schedule in advance. What can be planned is the phone coverage and the room left on the board, and those two decisions determine how much of the day absorbs the disruption when the call finally comes in.
Start with the windows on your own contracts. It is a short piece of work, and it tells you how much margin you are actually operating with.