About this episode
Tanner Leishman owns Bayline Medical Transport in the San Francisco Bay Area and cofounded the NEMA Network, a two-sided marketplace that routes skilled nursing facility rides to vetted NEMT providers, and about half of the providers who apply fail its basic checks. SNF work runs roughly 70/30 wheelchair to gurney, recurs on schedules like dialysis three days a week, and starts and ends at the same facility, which cuts deadhead miles. The network is live across California and is taking applications from other states ahead of a push into Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas.
Key takeaways
- The NEMA Network is a two-sided marketplace: skilled nursing facilities enter rides, and the network sends each one to a vetted NEMT provider nearby, while existing facility contracts stay in place.
- About 50% of applicants are weeded out, often for lacking proof of workers' comp; other requirements include W2 drivers, background checks, sex offender registry checks, and drug and alcohol screening.
- SNF rides split about 70/30 wheelchair to gurney and recur on fixed schedules, such as dialysis three days a week for several weeks, so one provider can accept the whole series.
- Every trip starts and ends at the same facility, so vehicles stay clustered around one SNF, cutting deadhead miles and letting drivers chain rides without crossing town between home pickups.
- Only a facility's Medicare skilled mix is facility paid, so a 200 bed SNF may have just 20 or 30 qualifying patients, which is why larger networks have ignored SNFs.
Chapters
- 0:00 The NEMT Entrepreneurial Hustle
- 0:30 Founding Bayline Medical Transport & Tanner's Personal Mission
- 2:15 What is the NEMA Network?
- 4:15 Expanding the NEMA Marketplace Nationwide
- 6:27 How NEMA Connects SNFs with Quality NEMT Providers
- 9:21 Why Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Rides Maximize Route Efficiency
- 12:05 SNF Ride Breakdown: Wheelchair vs. Gurney Transports
- 13:30 The Hidden Challenges of SNF Direct Contracting
- 17:00 Exact Requirements to Join the NEMA Network
- 20:00 How Out-of-State NEMT Providers Can Apply Today
- 21:40 Why Top NEMT Operators Choose Bambi Software
