LCO No. 2564 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5427
February Session, 2024
LCO No. 2564
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING NONEMERGENCY MEDICAL
TRANSPORTATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-276 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2024): 3
(a) The Commissioner of Social Services shall identify geographic 4
areas of the state where competitive bidding for nonemergency 5
transportation services provided to medical assistance recipients to 6
access covered medical services would result in cost savings to the state. 7
For the identified areas, the Commissioner of Social Services, in 8
consultation with the Commis sioner of Transportation, the 9
Commissioner of Public Health and the Secretary of the Office of Policy 10
and Management, shall purchase such nonemergency transportation 11
services through a competitive bidding process. Any transportation 12
providers awarded a contract or subcontract for the direct provision of 13
such services shall meet state licensure or certification requirements and 14
the nonemergency transportation requirements established by the 15 Raised Bill No. 5427
LCO No. 2564 2 of 3
Department of Social Services, and shall provide the most cost effective 16
transportation service, provided any contractor awarded a contract 17
solely for coordinating such transportation services shall not be required 18
to meet such licensure or certification requirements and provided the 19
first such contracts for the purchase of such services shall not exceed one 20
year. Any drivers providing services under such contract shall at a 21
minimum have approval by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for 22
state endorsement requirements pursuant to section 14-44. Prior to 23
awarding a contract pursuant to this section, the Commissioner of Social 24
Services shall consider the effect of the contract on the emergency 25
ambulance primary service areas and volunteer ambulance services 26
affected by the contract. The commissioner may limit the geographic 27
areas to be served by a contractor and may limit the amount of services 28
to be performed by a contractor. The commissioner may operate one or 29
more pilot programs prior to state-wide operation of a competitive 30
bidding program for nonemergency transportation services. By 31
enrolling in the Medicaid program or participating in the competitively 32
bid contract for nonemergency transportation services, providers of 33
nonemergency transportation services agree to offer to recipients of 34
medical assistance all types or levels of transportation services for which 35
they are licensed or certified. Effective October 1, 1991, payment for such 36
services shall be made only for services provided to an eligible recipient 37
who is actually transported. A contract entered into pursuant to this 38
section may include services provided by another state agency. 39
Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, a contract 40
entered into pursuant to this section shall establish the rates to be paid 41
for the transportation services provided under the contract. A contract 42
entered into pursuant to this section may include services provided by 43
another state agency and shall supersede any conflicting provisions of 44
the regulations of Connecticut state agencies pertaining to medical 45
transportation services. Any contractor awarded a contract for 46
coordinating nonemergency transportation services for medical 47
assistance recipients, who also coordinates transportation services for 48
nonmedical assistance recipients, shall disclose to any transportation 49
provider, with whom it subcontracts to provide nonemergency 50 Raised Bill No. 5427
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transportation services under this section, the source of payment at the 51
time the service is requested. 52
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2024 17b-276(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To require drivers providing nonemergency medical transportation to
be licensed operators of motor vehicles used for passenger
transportation.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]