Complaints About MaineCare Ride System Flow In

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services says the number of complaints it has received about its MaineCare transportation contractors is far below what is being reported by the companies.

The department said companies that transport MaineCare patients to non-emergency appointments reported 266 complaints in August. But the written log, obtained by the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1bSkZJP ) under public records law, falls far below the number of people who complained, which may reach into the thousands.

Among the complaints was one from an Aroostook County man who suffered a burst gallbladder and was hospitalized for three days after a transportation broker failed to arrange the ride he needed.

All but three of the complaints were against two out-of-state contractors Maine hired to manage the $40 million-a-year service for about 45,000 residents.