As of Friday, Feb. 7, York County Community Action Corporation suspended its role as the primary provider of non-emergency Medicaid transport for York County’s most vulnerable residents ”“ people from every town and city ranging from elders to infants, many of whom endure physical disabilities.
As president of the YCCAC Board of Directors, I can say unequivocally that every possible option to avoid this result was vetted exhaustively by our board members. York County Community Action’s Maine Care transportation program has been in existence for more than 30 years. Our volunteer driver program has served the community especially well, and has garnered national recognition as a model of efficiency. The simplicity of the program is one of its greatest attributes: Local residents use their own vehicles to transport other local residents to medical, dental, or behavioral health appointments. The drivers receive no salary for their services; their only remuneration is pay for gas and toll fees. It is community service at its best.
As of Aug. 1, 2013, the state began using a third-party broker to arrange and in many cases provide transport for Maine Care members. Since the third-party broker took over in York County, we have received countless calls from concerned community members. Some report missed rides; others express concern that they have had to put their unaccompanied child in a vehicle with unknown adult passengers. We have heard from doctor’s offices and clinics that their patient no-show rates have increased since Aug. 1.
We just recently received this message on our website: “I’m scared for my son’s sake dealing with (the third party broker) for rides to school. My experience with them has been very rough. Very hard company to deal with. I wish YCCAC volunteers could still drive my son.”
In one especially troubling report, a foster parent explained that her disabled foster child was not transported to her home after school, but was mistakenly delivered to and left at the home of the child’s biological parents, who were barred by court order from having unsupervised contact with the child. The third-party broker system has been fraught with problems across the state.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will be seeking a replacement third-party transportation broker in most of Maine, but the contract in York County will not be reconsidered. If you, someone in your family, a neighbor, a patient or client has experienced a disruption in medical transportation, we hope you will call upon the leadership in Augusta ”“ legislators, the Department of Health and Human Services, and members of the executive branch ”“ to demand that York County’s MaineCare members get the same opportunity for improved service that will be offered to the rest of the state. You may also leave comments for us on our website at www.yccac.org.
-Claudette Dupee, YCCAC Board President
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