DENVER — MedRide, a non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) service that provides rides to Medicaid patients, can continue to do its job in Colorado despite the state ending its contract with the company last month.
The move from Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) came just days after the company's contract was suspended. MedRide took that suspension to court and was allowed to resume its services at the time.
In a statement, HCPF accused MedRide of "consistently [failing] to meet numerous state and federal regulations, jeopardizing the health and safety of Health First Colorado members."
“I want to reiterate that HCPF’s top priorities are the safety and well-being of Health First Colorado members and the sound stewardship of our safety net coverage programs,” said HCPF Medicaid Director Adela Flores-Brennan.
- Watch our coverage of MedRide's contract termination in the video player below:
Following the termination, MedRide issued a statement saying it was appealing the state's decision through the Colorado Attorney General's Office to remedy the situation.
“Despite MedRide’s multiple attempts to complete HCPF’s due process for revalidation and credentialing, HCPF continues to be unresponsive and TransDev has rejected MedRide’s submission to certify its vehicles,” said Henry Baskerville, equity partner at Fortis Law Partners, which represents MedRide. “That’s not just my client claiming that’s what happened, we have email documentation that proves this."
A copy of the notice of termination from HCPF showed that since Nov. 6, 2024, MedRide has submitted claims that were denied for the following reasons:
- The member was not eligible on the date of service;
- The claim was for a duplicative service;
- The member birth date did not match the member ID; and
- The service was not covered by the member’s benefit plan.
On Wednesday, the public relations firm that represents MedRide sent a statement to Scripps News Denver saying the transportation service had been granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Feb. 19 to pause the contract termination. But that TRO ends Thursday at midnight, according Marc Williams, a spokesperson for HCPF.
Unless a judge grants MedRide an extension to their TRO, they must cease operations by midnight Thursday, Williams said. By late Thursday afternoon, Williams informed Denver7 that while the court had not yet issued a formal order extending the TRO, HCPF would honor a previous discussion between the court and MedRide representatives that allowed them to continue operating in the state.
A court hearing that seeks to stop HCPF's termination from taking effect while MedRide appeals its termination through the Office of Administrative Courts is scheduled for March 17.
Change the editor's note: Editor's note on March 7 at 10:10 a.m.: This story has been edited to clarify that MedRide can continue to provide its services to Coloradans after lawyers honored an agreement to let the company continue to operate pending a court hearing on March 17.
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