People on Medicare and Medicaid who count on state contractor MTM to get rides to and from medical appointments say they are being left to wait and sometimes even completely forgotten.
Sherilyn LeRoux had a bad fall and now has a number of medical problems as a result. She goes to see her orthopedist often and has knee surgery Thursday.
She uses the state's medical transportation company, MTM.
"There are no words to describe how very bad it is," said LeRoux. "It's horrible."
She said the service is unreliable, but she struggles just to make an appointment for a ride.
"I called seven times from Dr. Lee's office last week on their phones and never got through, spending four hours trying to get through," LeRoux said.
Carol Ozemhoya also contacted 13 Action News after getting nowhere with MTM. She is also a Medicare recipient who cannot drive herself and has limited funds to spend on taxis to and from appointments.
Ozemhoya has to use MTM to get to dialysis three times a week.
"Some days are fine, they show up on time," said Ozemhoya. "Other days they show up late, other days they don't show up at all, and there are days when you call and say. 'I just want to make sure my ride's coming today,' (and they say) 'we canceled your ride.'"
LeRoux also told 13 Action News that MTM has canceled her rides without telling her.
"I'm mad about it because they're being paid for a service, and they're not providing it and it's a bad situation," Ozemhoya said.
13 Action News stepped in and stepped up to get them some answers. We called the State of Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.
It turns out the state has a contract with MTM, but said they have not heard of these widespread problems like we have.
We insisted the state do something, so they set up a phone number to call if you are having problems with MTM.
If you are having issues with MTM and their services, call 1-866-569-1746 to report it so the state can start looking into what's going on. They wanted us to warn you, the lines are busier on Mondays and Tuesdays, but not to give up.
