A bipartisan group of Maine lawmakers has sent a letter Gov. Janet Mills (D) asking her to vacate the state’s contract with ModivCare — a large Colorado-based company that recently filed for bankruptcy — for the provision of non-emergency medical transportation.
Signing the letter were roughly 130 Democratic and Republican members of both the House and the Senate.
While ModivCare currently has a contract to provide non-emergency medical transportation to MaineCare patients in certain areas, the State of Maine has been attempting for the past two years to award it full responsibility for all sixteen counties.
As of now, Maine-based organizations Penquis and Waldo Community Action Partners provide non-emergency medical transportation in a handful of areas, but this would change if the new contract with ModivCare is ultimately allowed to take effect.
“It was apparent the procurement process under the Mills administration, which the state auditor said is ripe with potentially fraudulent contracts, was flawed in this case and the additional scrutiny should resolve that,” said Senate Republican Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook).
“We also don’t have any knowledge about the new owners,” Sen. Stewart continued. “Based on the track record of this company and the complaints we have received over the past couple of years, the Mills Administration should at the very least reopen and rebid this contract on behalf of northern Maine’s people.”
“This contract has long-term implications for non-emergency transportation for seniors and disabled persons and should be given the highest priority,” said Sen. Joseph Baldacci (D-Penobscot).
[RELATED: Augusta Lawmakers Question Maine’s Contract with ModivCare After Bankruptcy Filing]
After filing unsuccessful administrative appeals, Penquis filed a lawsuit against the state alleging that the process of awarding the now financially-compromised ModivCare such an expansive award over in-state providers was unfair, convoluted, and inconsistent.
According to Penquis, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) scorers admitted being unable to explain why points were deducted from their scores, frequently copied and pasted evaluations across regions, gave disparate ratings to identical question responses, and failed to review key parts of the proposals.
In late August, ModivCare announced that it would be filing for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy after facing significant financial difficulties and delistment from the New York Stock Exchange.
In their letter to the governor, the lawmakers draw attention to the volume of complaints that have been filed against the company, as well as place a great deal of emphasis on their recent bankruptcy proceedings.
Drawing attention to Maine’s laws governing the state’s competitive bidding process, the lawmakers who signed the letter urge the Mills Administration to consider a broader range of factors than those originally taken into account when evaluating the submitted proposals in order to more accurately identify the “best value bidder.”
They further point out that the State of Maine is not obligated to negotiate a final contract with ModivCare just because the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued a “conditional contract award” to the company.
[RELATED: Dems and GOP Agree — DHHS Should Solve MaineCare Rides Contract Crisis by Reissuing Flawed RFP]
This right to back out of the contract was acknowledged by Roger Bonderson, a member of the leadership for Maine’s Office of MaineCare Services (OMS), during a September hearing on the issue, noting that the state could change course at “basically any time.”
“For these reasons, we urge DHHS to exercise its broad discretion to abandon the current procurement and start the process anew,” the lawmakers wrote.
“This avoids the risk that ModivCare’s bankruptcy may result in a different level of service than originally promised,” they explained. “It will also provide an opportunity to take into account all the factors that should be properly considered to provide the greatest value to and protect the best interests of the State and our people.”
“ModivCare has proudly provided non-emergency transportation services (NET) to the state of Maine for more than 13 years,” ModivCare said in a statement shared with the Maine Wire in response to the situation. “We remain committed to working collaboratively with our state leaders, healthcare providers, and community partners to deliver on our mission of providing safe, dependable transportation for MaineCare members who rely on these services every day.”
“We are aware of the concerns raised by members of the Maine legislature regarding the NET contract, and respect the Legislature’s interest in ensuring reliable, high-quality services for Mainers,” said ModivCare.
“Recent media coverage has implied that ModivCare is unable to meet service needs in the State and called on the State to conduct a re-procurement,” they continued. “Yet, published MaineCare data continues to show that ModivCare meets or exceeds all contractual performance requirements, reinforcing the reality that ModivCare is the NET provider of choice for Maine. We look forward to continuing conversations with MaineCare and our elected leaders to serve the state.”
“Non-emergency transportation is a lifeline for many Mainers, especially those living in rural communities,” said Myra Orifice, Senior Director of Operations for ModivCare, in the statement. “Each year we work with 35 Maine small business transportation providers and 581 Maine-based drivers to coordinate over 1.2 million trips for approximately 200,000 MaineCare members statewide.”
“This wouldn’t be possible without our team of over 117 local Mainers employed at ModivCare, who coordinate these rides and handle over 168,000 calls from MaineCare members annually,” Orifice said. “We are by Maine, for Maine. Our focus has been and continues to be on providing reliable, on-time service while also continuously improving, and we remain committed to working closely with MaineCare and State leaders to ensure all members can access the care they depend on without disruption.”
“We want to assure all interested parties that ModivCare concluded its financial restructuring process late last year and has emerged from bankruptcy as an incredibly strong company financially, with significantly less debt and additional liquidity, allowing us to continue to deliver the high-quality NET services our Mainer members expect,” the company concluded.
Note: This story was updated on January 12, 2026 to include a statement shared with the Maine Wire by ModivCare.
