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CCLP testifies to Medical Services Board on emergency rules for NEMT
![An accessible taxi van with a wheelchair lift is parked on a snowy residential street in winter. A man appears to be operating the mechanical wheelchair lift, which is lowered to pavement level. The lift is black metal and has a bright yellow handrail. On the lift is a woman in a wheelchair, bundled up in a coat. She waits as the man assists her into the specialized disability transportation vehicle.](https://copolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AdobeStock_238125630.png)
On Friday, January 12, 2024, CCLP Policy Fellow, Milena Castañeda testified at the Medical Services Board meeting regarding emergency rules for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT).
Good morning, Chair and Members of the Board,
My name is Milena Castañeda, and I am a policy fellow with the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to anti-poverty initiatives statewide. CCLP supports the Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) bringing forward these emergency rules to address the issue of fraud in Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT). However, NEMT has not been a well-working program for some time now, and these emergency rules, while necessary, are not all that needs to be done.
NEMT needs to have further additional rules and regulations added throughout the program, not just for the providers and drivers of this program. To ensure that all beneficiaries that receive this service can access it equitably throughout the state, there must be a full review of the current rules and regulations to ensure that all issues are current, not just fraud, are addressed.
We look forward to more stakeholder engagement, as this benefit needs a lot of work, and these small fixes, while needed, are not enough.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Milena Castaneda
Policy Fellow
Colorado Center on Law and Policy