Sparks fly as House Oversight Committee grills medical ride company

May 24, 2019 12:17 am

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The MTM saga continues.

The non-emergency medical transportation company is facing additional complaints from subcontractors and the vulnerable populations they serve.

A representative for those drivers even made this bold claim.

“It was brought to my attention that we could possibly have two potential deaths pertaining to transportation,” said John Tassoni, of the Substance Use and Mental Health Leadership Council of Rhode Island.

MTM and the state agency that hired the company were quick to point out this is an unsubstantiated claim.

But still, members of the house oversight committee are fed up with the situation.

“I don’t want that blood on my hands,” said Rep. Anastasia Williams, (D) District 9. “I’m going to get blamed for that. I won’t sleep at night. You sleeping okay?”

Drivers and elderly and disabled passengers are continuing to complain about missed rides right through the middle of this month.

“That is egregious and that is outrageous,” said Oversight Committee Chair Patricia Serpa. “And it needs to stop. I am sick of these hearings, and I am especially appalled that you would consider any of this a joke. You’re laughing all the way to the bank with our millions of dollars. And we have had it.”

MTM says the company has shown improvements and that the number of complaints has declined from more than 1,000 in January to about 300 in April.

“Any missed trip is not okay with us,” said Phil Stalboerger of MTM. “We’re going to make sure that we’re resolving problems. So we’re going to continue having conversations with facilities, with providers, with everyone in the state to make sure we’re doing the best job we can.”

The state medicaid director says canceling the contract is not off the table…but the priority right now is to manage MTM and hold it accountable for improvements.

“It’s just unacceptable,” Serpa said. “If I had my way, I’d cut the cord with them. Unfortunately as legislators we don’t have that authority, but if they went away it wouldn’t upset me.”

Chairwoman Serpa is calling for another hearing in July to keep the company on track.