Maine High Court Upholds Modivcare Awards for Four MaineCare Ride Regions

On August 4, 2026, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the state’s awards to ModivCare Solutions, LLC to arrange MaineCare non-emergency transportation (NET) in Regions 2, 3, 4, and 8. It also lifted the stay that had held those awards during the appeal. The ruling ends Penquis C.A.P., Inc.’s challenge to the 2023 bid in which Maine awarded all eight regions to Modivcare. Until the state switches brokers, Penquis still arranges rides in Kennebec, Somerset, Penobscot, and Piscataquis counties.

What the court decided

Item	Detail
Case	Penquis C.A.P., Inc. v. Department of Administrative and Financial Services, 2026 ME 79 (docket BCD-25-275)
Argued	February 4, 2026
Decided	August 4, 2026
Regions	2 (Hancock and Washington), 3 (Penobscot and Piscataquis), 4 (Kennebec and Somerset), and 8 (York and part of Oxford)
Result	The lower court’s judgment is affirmed, and the stay of the awards is lifted
Broker holding the awards	ModivCare Solutions, LLC

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) posted the request for proposals in May 2023. It received about forty proposals from seven bidders across the eight regions. Proposals were scored on organization and experience (25 points), proposed services (50 points), and a signed cost structure form (25 points). Modivcare scored highest in all eight regions. In the four regions Penquis challenged, both bidders got full marks for experience, and Modivcare scored higher on proposed services.

Why the challenge failed

A bidder that challenges a Maine contract award must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, a violation of law, an irregularity that made the process fundamentally unfair, or an arbitrary award. The court found nothing in the record that met that bar, and it rejected each of Penquis’s arguments.

• Records requests. Penquis wanted the appeal hearing held off until DHHS answered all its public records requests. The court said the procurement statute lets a bidder present evidence it already has, not force the state to hand over more, and the records it sought played no part in the scoring.
• Scoring notes. One reviewer copied notes across regions, and others made small errors. The court agreed that the group’s consensus scoring, done against the proposals themselves, cured them. It also held that the notes did not have to show exactly how each observation became a point score.
• Unequal treatment. Penquis said reviewers credited Modivcare, but not Penquis, for COVID-19 rides, and overlooked Penquis’s better record on corrective action plans. The court found scant evidence of unequal treatment. Penquis had put its COVID-19 information in the wrong section of its proposal, and both bidders got full marks for the section in question anyway.

This is the second ruling of its kind in 2026. On February 10, 2026, the same court rejected Waldo Community Action Partners’ challenge to the Region 5 award (2026 ME 13), and Modivcare took over the midcoast on July 1, 2026. See the midcoast change.

What changes and when

Regions 2 and 8 already run through Modivcare, so riders and providers there keep the same broker. The change that matters is in Regions 3 and 4.

Region	Counties	Broker on the state’s July 1, 2026 list	Next step
2	Hancock and Washington	Modivcare	No change
3	Penobscot (except Patten) and Piscataquis	Penquis	Moves to Modivcare
4	Kennebec and Somerset	Penquis	Moves to Modivcare
8	York and part of Oxford	Modivcare	No change

While the appeal was pending, the state extended Penquis’s agreements for Regions 3 and 4 from July 1 through December 31, 2026, for $6,619,680.50 and $6,899,202.50. The state’s filings said it did so while it waited for the court. Those filings also say DHHS plans to bid these services again with a contract start date of July 1, 2036.

The switch is large. From April through June 2026, Penquis arranged 170,034 NET trips, 31.78 percent of all trips in the state. In its August 5, 2026 statement, Modivcare said it will now serve as the broker for MaineCare members statewide and looks forward to partnering with local providers as it expands.

The state’s broker list, updated July 1, 2026, still names Penquis for the four counties. For the midcoast, DHHS posted its provider bulletin on June 24, 2026, one week before Modivcare took over on July 1.

What providers in Penquis counties should do now

1. Keep running Penquis trips. Penquis is the broker on the state’s list until it changes. Keep your trip records complete, and bill every ride you give before the switch.
2. Apply to Modivcare now. Fill out its Become a Transportation Provider form, which asks for your base county, services, vehicle count, NPI, and insurance amounts. Credentialing takes time, so do not wait for the state’s notice.
3. Gather the documents Modivcare asks for. For drivers: a PASS wheelchair certificate, first aid and CPR, a defensive driving certificate, a drug screen, a motor vehicle report, and a background check. For vehicles: current registration, a state inspection, and proof of insurance. It also asks for general liability, sexual abuse and molestation, and auto coverage, plus workers’ compensation if you have employees. See broker credentialing.
4. Watch for the state’s notice. Check the MaineCare provider bulletins and the broker list each week. In the midcoast, the notice came one week before the switch.
5. Tell your facilities. In the midcoast, clinics and other medical providers book Modivcare rides online through its TripCare platform or by calling a dedicated provider line. Ask Modivcare how facilities in your counties will book, and pass it on to the dialysis units and clinics you serve.

In the midcoast, Modivcare announced on May 4, 2026 that it would work with Waldo Community Action Partners, the agency that lost the Region 5 award. Our Modivcare guide covers its other states, the Penquis guide covers Penquis’s network, and the Maine state guide covers vehicle, insurance, and driver rules.

Key dates

Date	What happened
May 2023	DHHS posts the NET request for proposals
October 2023	Penquis learns that Modivcare won all four regions it bid for
April 18, 2024	The state appeal committee upholds the awards
May 23, 2025	The Business and Consumer Docket affirms the awards. Penquis appeals, and the high court stays them.
February 10, 2026	The court upholds the Region 5 award (2026 ME 13)
July 1, 2026	Modivcare takes over Region 5, and Penquis’s Regions 3 and 4 agreements are extended
August 4, 2026	The court upholds the Regions 2, 3, 4, and 8 awards (2026 ME 79)
December 31, 2026	Penquis’s extended agreements end