Connecticut Medicaid Transportation Companies Agree to Continue Service While State Looks to Boost Reimbursement

After threatening to stop service if the state does not boost reimbursement rates, about a dozen companies that provide transportation to doctor's visits and other appointments for thousands of Connecticut Medicaid beneficiaries each month have agreed to "stay on the job for the next 30 days," the Hartford Courant reports (Chedekel, Hartford Courant, 5/1). The Medicaid transportation network began in 1998, when the state Department of Social Services hired two out-of-state companies "to manage medical rides for the state's 100,000 Medicaid clients." The companies, DynCorp Management Resources and LogistiCare Inc., use about 45 livery and ambulance companies as subcontractors to operate the transportation network. In 1999, the state increased reimbursement rates for the two companies by less than 3%, and both Gov. John Rowland's (R) proposed FY 2002 budget and a rival Democratic proposal call only for a 2.3% increase -- an amount that both the companies and subcontractors call "insufficient" -- next year. The subcontractors, citing rising gasoline and insurance prices, have asked for at least a 20% increase in reimbursement for "non-wheelchair transportation," which stands at about $8. DynCorp and LogistiCare's contracts with the state expired in February, but both have agreed to two extensions that will last through June, when they hope they will receive a rate increase. They say they would pass part of the increase on to the subcontractors. though the subcontractors want a guarantee that would happen. While DynCorp president Holli Ploog said that the company had a "contingency plan in case" subcontractors stop their services, Dan Cyr, director of Northeast operations for LogistiCare, said, "If the providers pull out, I don't know what happens. We use all the major providers in the state now. There's no backup" (Chedekel, Hartford Courant, 4/29). However, Raymond Manzelli, president of Managed Transportation Services, one of the subcontractors, said, "I think most providers will continue on good faith for another 30 days" (Hartford Courant, 5/1). But the situation remains tenuous, according to Sal Marotta of Ambassador Wheelchair Services, another subcontractor, who said, "The system is going to collapse. A lot of [subcontractors] are at the point where we can't hold out much longer" (Hartford Courant, 4/29).