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recipients threaten to stop providing services

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Companies that transport Medicaid recipients threaten to stop providing

services

By Associated Press, 4/29/2001 13:03

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Livery companies that transport Medicaid patients to

medical appointments are threatening to halt service in Connecticut as early as

this week unless state officials guarantee more money.

Officials of many of the 45 companies that transport Medicaid recipients

for doctor's appointments, dialysis treatments and other medical visits say the

state has not increased rates in three years. They say serving Medicaid

recipients is more difficult with rising gas and insurance costs.

''The system is going to collapse,'' said Sal Marotta of Ambassador

Wheelchair Services, which transports Medicaid and general assistance clients.

''A lot of us are at the point where we can't hold out much longer.''

The state Department of Social Services in 1998 hired two out-of-state

companies, DynCorp Management Resources and LogistiCare Inc., to manage the

medical transportation needs of the state's 100,000 Medicaid clients.

The two companies, known as brokers, subcontract with livery and ambulance

companies at a cost to the state of about $25 million a year.

The state in 1999 increased rates by less than 3 percent amid complaints

by the two companies that the increase could not be passed on to subcontractors.

The state has not increased broker rates since.

Republican Gov. G. Rowland and Democratic legislators are proposing a

2.3-percent increase in the brokers' contracts for the fiscal year that begins

July 1.

The brokers and subcontractors say it's insufficient. The livery and

ambulance companies have been lobbying the Legislature and state Department of

Social Services for more money, and a guarantee that they would receive a

portion of rate increases for the brokers.

''I just can't afford to keep doing it. My insurance costs went from

$4,000 to $8,000,'' said Macdonald of Plymouth-based Cook's Transport,

which handles about 4,000 trips a month for the state. She said her insurance

costs increased because the state changed its insurance requirements.

Executives of DynCorp and LogistiCare say they're not expecting a

disruption of services. But about a dozen transport companies say they may stop

serving Medicaid clients as early as this week.

The two brokers' contracts with the state expired in February and a

three-month extension ends Monday. Both companies have agreed to another

extension through June 30, and say they believe they will keep the

subcontractors.

''If the providers pull out, I don't know what happens,'' said Dan Cyr,

director of Northeast operations for LogistiCare. ''We use all the major

providers in the state now. There's no backup.''

The per-trip fees to the subcontractors vary, from $8 for some clients to

$27 for others who need wheelchair transportation.

The subcontractors say they want a minimum increase of 20 percent in fees

for transporting clients who do not require wheelchair transportation.

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