Waldo Community Action Partners is poised to continue as the premiere transportation provider in Maine’s MidCoast region despite a recent Maine Supreme Court decision that effectively awards the MDOT Region 5 Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Brokerage to an out-of-state based provider.
MidCoast Connector, a program of Waldo Community Action Partners, has been the trusted Non-Emergency Medical Transportation broker in MDOT Region 5 for more than a decade, providing a critical service for people who lack transportation to medical appointments throughout our rural region in Midcoast Maine. In 2023, WCAP responded to an RFP from the State of Maine to continue offering these services to our greater community and the state chose to award the contract to another provider. WCAP appealed the decision all the way to Maine’s highest court, and this week, that court upheld the lower court’s decision.
“This decision is obviously disappointing,” said WCAP President and CEO Donna M. Kelley, LCSW. “For more than a decade, our team provided valuable, high-quality customer service to the people we serve in Region 5. We believe our application demonstrated our community approach and high standards and decades of experience delivering transportation services in our region. It was surprising and discouraging that the state chose an out-of-state corporation over a local nonprofit with a stellar performance record.”
Under Kelley’s leadership, WCAP has spent the last two years planning for all possible outcomes of the legal process.
Part of the plan for WCAP moving forward includes continuing to offer non-emergency medical transportation services potentially as a provider for the new holder of the Region 5 contract. Other WCAP transportation services, including public transportation that the agency now provides in six of Maine’s coastal counties, and privately funded medical or other transportation will continue without disruption.
“We hope to become the preferred Medicaid trip provider in the Region and that may offer additional options for us to deliver more services which we cannot under our current model as a broker,” explained Kelley.
Already, WCAP has an established history of continually seeking innovative solutions to transportation challenges in the rural areas of the state they serve. WCAP is an active participant in multiple regional planning committees and councils, including the Midcoast Council of Governments and the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission which serve MDOT Region 5. As part of this work, WCAP is involved in ongoing studies that will help shape the future of transportation options in the Midcoast region.
WCAP’s expert team will continue this crucial planning work in the Midcoast, along with actively seeking alternative revenue streams to support ongoing transportation solutions that enable WCAP to respond flexibly to meet needs in the communities it serves.
“We will continue working on our transition planning and coordinate internally and externally once we have a formal timeline and plan from the state,” said Kelley.
WCAP will provide additional details about upcoming changes to services as more information becomes available. At this time, and until further notice, all transportation services, including Non Emergency Medical Transportation will continue as usual.