JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An Action News Jax investigation has uncovered nearly 400 complaints made in Florida just this year against LogistiCare, a company that hundreds of people in the Jacksonville area rely on everyday for medical transportation.
Many of the most vulnerable among us say they’re being abandoned or not picked up at all.
At 11: @ActionNewsJax Investigates: Company accused of stranding disabled patients receives hundreds of 2019 complaints. We speak with a former client who says the same driver got into two crashes with her in the car. https://t.co/nMxmtK89mh @TenikkaANjax @BachmanANjax @NewsGriff
— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) July 31, 2019
In an investigation last week, Action News Jax introduced you to a disabled woman who said it has happened to her at least 11 times this year.
Marian Moore lives with disabilities. She was relying on LogistiCare for medical transportation through Medicaid.
“They wouldn’t show up for important appointments,” Moore said. “I was having surgery done on my head and things.”
LogistiCare sends out a third party, such as a cab or Lyft.
According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Floridians have made 376 complaints against LogistiCare so far in 2019.
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To compare, Action News Jax also obtained data from the same period in 2018 and found 290 complaints. That’s an increase of about 23%.
Moore said she was involved in two crashes with the same driver.
She said the first crash happened on State Road 200 in Yulee. She said her driver was in the wrong turn lane.
Moore said the second crash happened in the parking lot of a doctor’s office on Dunn Avenue.
“There was a car pulling in and another one backing out. Well, this driver tried to go right though them, behind them, whatever, and we got hit again, and I was, like, ‘Really?'” Moore said.
Moore was not injured in either alleged crash but she said she was shaken up.
“If you need to have some kind of service, you have to be treated a little bit with dignity,” Moore said. “You don’t leave people.”
In a statement to Action News Jax, Robert Perez, LogistiCare’s senior vice president of client services, said, "We apologize to those who may have experienced transportation difficulties years ago.”
More information provided by LogistiCare is below:
"In the case regarding Ms. Moore, our records show only one accident involving a transportation provider in our network. In April 2017, her driver allegedly backed into a parked vehicle. Ms. Moore was not injured and did not request medical attention at the scene.
"While hundreds of trips are completed daily in Jacksonville without issue, we take every complaint seriously. To that end, if an assigned transportation provider does not meet its contractual requirements, we will implement corrective actions to better meet members’ needs."
Additional facts for inclusion, per your questions:
- In the Jacksonville area, LogistiCare annually manages an average of approximately 230,000 trips.
- In Florida, more than 99% of trips are completed complaint-free.
- In the Jacksonville area last year, 99.6% of trips were completed complaint-free. This year, 99.8% of trips have been completed complaint-free.
- The company currently serves more than 2 million members in the state, which is about the same amount as last year.
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Cox Media Group
