The accident took place in Tennessee. I'm not sure what the Medicaid benefit is in that state for transportation. For those that are on Medicaid here in NY, Medicaid will provide transportation to doctor appointments and the pharmacy and that is it. It doesn't provide transportation for things like shopping, visiting family, ect. For anything else, the poor people here are reliant on public transportation, taxis/ubers, riding a bike/walking if physically able, or begging family/friends for a ride.

The poor, or elderly and poor, still need to drive if they have a vehicle, or find other means of transportation. Those other methods of transportation aren't cost effective in either time or money. Walking is free, but a 10 mile walk will take 3 hours, source: I have walked 10 miles when my bike had a flat and the busses stopped running. Public transit is cheap here in Albany, you can ride the bus all day for $3.90 if you use a bus card, but it can take 2-3 hours for a 10 mile trip in one direction depending on number of connections and schedule. The same trip in a taxi/uber might cost $20 - $30 but take only 15 minutes.

I know that here in NY, people in homeless shelters are sometimes given free bus cards with like x number of prepaid trips. The elderly and disabled can get discounts on bus fare, but they have to jump through hoops to prove their disability/age and keep re-certifying for the discount.

Do the poor get free transportation where you live?