MTM to continue offering Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation

Missouri-based MTM will continue providing rides to medical appointments and other services for Medicaid members after the Department of Health Services rescinded its intent to award a contract to a different vendor.

The Department of Administration ordered DHS to pull the offer to Georgia-based LogistiCare Solutions after MTM disputed it.

DHS spokeswoman Elizabeth Goodsitt said MTM’s current contract will continue throughout the procurement process with no impact to members.

There isn’t a timeline or other information available as to when a new solicitation for proposals may be released, she said.

Last August, the Department of Health Services announced its intent to work with LogistiCare Solutions for non-emergency medical transportation services, which help Medicaid members to and from services covered by the program.

MTM filed a protest of the intent to award. DHS issued a decision to deny the protest in December, and MTM appealed to the Department of Administration.

MTM alleged DHS violated state regulations because two of the six members of its evaluation committee did not attend its oral presentation last June.

The company also alleged violations because some members contacted MTM prior to the announcement. And it suggested that the department improperly considered MTM’s past performance and the proposers’ history of performance on similar contracts in other states.

DOA dismissed the allegations over improper contacts and consideration of vendors’ past performance. But it found DHS violated state code when two of the evaluators were unable to attend MTM’s presentation.

“Given the procedural importance of that requirement, DHS’s denial of MTM’s protest is reversed on the basis of this violation alone,” the DOA decision noted.

Wisconsin moved from a county-run to a statewide non-emergency medical transportation management model in 2012.

It selected LogistiCare as the first vendor to participate in the model, but the company ended its contract in 2013 citing a loss of money amid rising complaints.

MTM took over the service, but complaints continued. That prompted a legislative audit in 2015 and efforts by the department to improve the service.

MTM and LogistiCare declined to comment.