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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1298
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 4225
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING NONEMERGENCY MEDICAL
TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS.
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repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2
2025): 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 Commissioner 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. 1298
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Department of Social Services, and shall provide the most cost effective 16
transportation service, provided (1) 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] (2) 19
the first such contracts for the purchase of such services shall not exceed 20
one year, and (3) any driver providing services under such contract or 21
subcontract who is operating under the provisions of subdivision (3) of 22
subsection (e) of section 14-44, but in no event for a period of longer than 23
ninety days in the aggregate, shall be deemed to have met such 24
requirements. Prior to awarding a contract pursuant to this section, the 25
Commissioner of Social Services shall consider the effect of the contract 26
on the emergency ambulance primary service areas and volunteer 27
ambulance services affected by the contract. The commissioner may 28
limit the geographic areas to be served by a contractor and may limit the 29
amount of services to be performed by a contractor. The commissioner 30
may operate one or more pilot programs prior to state-wide operation 31
of a competitive bidding program for nonemergency transportation 32
services. By enrolling in the Medicaid program or participating in the 33
competitively bid contract for nonemergency transportation services, 34
providers of nonemergency transportation services agree to offer to 35
recipients of medical assistance all types or levels of transportation 36
services for which they are licensed or certified. Effective October 1, 37
1991, payment for such services shall be made only for services 38
provided to an eligible recipient who is actually transported. A contract 39
entered into pursuant to this section may include services provided by 40
another state agency. Notwithstanding any provision of the general 41
statutes, a contract entered into pursuant to this section shall establish 42
the rates to be paid for the transportation services provided under the 43
contract. A contract entered into pursuant to this section may include 44
services provided by another state agency and shall supersede any 45
conflicting provisions of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies 46
pertaining to medical transportation services. Any contractor awarded 47
a contract for coordinating nonemergency transportation services for 48
medical assistance recipients, who also coordinates transportation 49
services for nonmedical assistance recipients, shall disclose to any 50 Raised Bill No. 1298
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transportation provider, with whom it subcontracts to provide 51
nonemergency transportation services under this section, the source of 52
payment at the time the service is requested. 53
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2025 17b-276(a)
HS Joint Favorable