Mistakes and mishaps are always expected when a service transitions from one company to another, but the recent change to Logisticare overseeing scheduling for transportation of MaineCare clients sounds like it’s been more difficult than expected.

According to a recent Journal Tribune article by reporter Tammy Wells, “One client, who had a confirmation number for his ride, missed vascular surgery because no one showed up to take him to the hospital. Others missed medical appointments because of no-show drivers. Two people living in the same location had appointments at the same time, in the same place, on the same day; the driver took one, but not the other. ”¦

“And in one recent case, a female client was given a ride to her doctor’s office in a vehicle with an intoxicated male MaineCare client.”

Also at issue was the loss of volunteer drivers due to a change in the way they were reimbursed. Starting in August, the federal Center for Medicaid Services said the state could not reimburse volunteers for driving when a client was not in the vehicle. If the state had not complied, $6 million in Medicaid reimbursements was in jeopardy, according to Stefanie Nadeau, director of the Office of MaineCare Services at the Department of Health and Human Services.

York County Community Action lost about 40 volunteer drivers when the news broke that mileage wouldn’t be reimbursed when a client was not in the vehicle, but since the changeover, the policy has been reversed. Drivers are again being reimbursed for the miles they travel to pick up clients, but due to the loss of volunteers, Logisticare experienced some issues, according to Vice President of Operations Robert Harrison.

It was a good decision to reverse the policy and get volunteer drivers back on board. But the issues need to be ironed out soon, and patients missing surgeries and other medical appointments altogether is unacceptable. There should be stand-by or back-up drivers in place to ensure patients are getting to their scheduled appointments.

Logisticare has had a spotty record in some other places, according to published reports, like in Wisconsin, where Logisticare used to operate. According to the Milwaukee-based Journal Sentinel, Logisticare terminated its $38 million annual contract with Wisconsin in November, citing ride volume. Sen. John Tuttle, D-Sanford, provided copies of news stories to the Journal Tribune outlining similar difficulties experienced by clients in that state.

However, Nadeau said Logisticare is working to improve the situation, and we hope they can get on track so that another change isn’t made, further complicating the issue and impacting clients’ medical care.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.