To: Board of Supervisors
From: Anna Roth, Health Services Director
Report Title: Cancellation Agreement #77-428-1 and Contract #77-428-2 with First Aid Transportation, LLC
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Health Services Director, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County, as follows: (1) Cancellation Agreement #77-428-1 with First Aid Transportation, LLC, a limited liability company, effective at the end of business on October 31, 2023; and (2) Contract #77-428-2 with First Aid Transportation, LLC, a limited liability company, in an amount not to exceed $600,000, to provide non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services for Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) members and county recipients, for the period November 1, 2023 through October 31, 2026.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this contract will result in contractual service expenditures of up to $600,000 over a three-year period and will be funded 100% by CCHP Enterprise Fund II revenues. (Rate increase)
BACKGROUND:
CCHP has an obligation to provide certain non-emergency medical transportation services for its members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the county. NEMT services provide transportation to and from covered Medi-Cal services for eligible members. This contractor has been part of the CCHP Provider Network providing NEMT services and fostering a deep understanding of the CCHP organizations mission, values, and long-term objectives since May 1, 2022. This contract is entered into under and subject to the following legal authorities: California Government Code §§ 26227 and 31000; Health and Safety Code § 1451. Health Services Personnel approved this contract to ensure no conflicts with labor relations. This contractor currently cooperates with and participates in CCHP’s Quality Management Program which consists of quality improvement activities to improve the quality of care and services and member experience. Cooperation includes collection and evaluation of performance measurement data and participation in the organization’s clinical and service measure Quality Improvement Programs.
The nature of the NEMT services needed is complex and requires seamless coordination, integration and collaboration with existing programs and systems. There are a total of 17 NEMT providers in CCHP’s service area. CCHP is currently contracted with 14 of the NEMT’s. This contract renewal will maintain comprehensive area coverage for the entire CCHP membership and meet the Knox-Keene Act, time and distance mandate required by the State of California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) services. This contractor has been approved by the Public Works Department’s Purchasing Division on October 3, 2023.
On May 24, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved Contract #77-428 with First Aid Transportation, LLC, in an amount not to exceed $300,000, for the provision of non-emergency medical transportation services for CCHP members and county recipients, for the period May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2025.
In consideration of the contractor’s agreement to continue providing non-emergency medical transportation services and the department’s need to increase rates to maintain an adequate network for CCHP members to meet Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) mandates, the department and contractor have agreed to (1) mutual cancellation of the current contract in accordance with General Conditions Paragraph 5 (Termination), of the contract (Cancellation Agreement #77-428-1 will accomplish this cancellation), and (2) establish a new contract with the correct terms and conditions for the next three years.
Under new Contract #77-428-2, the contractor will continue to provide non-emergency medical transportation services for CCHP members and county recipients with the new contract term of November 1, 2023 through October 31, 2026.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this new contract is not approved certain specialized non-emergency medical transportation services for CCHP members under the terms of their Individual and Group Health Plan membership contracts with the county will not be provided and services will be delayed.