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\t\t\tThe office of Quality Care Access in the Atlantic Office Park in South Portland on Thursday. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe office of Quality Care Access in the Atlantic Office Park in South Portland on Thursday. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
The state is terminating MaineCare billing privileges and declining to renew licenses for a pair of residential healthcare providers that provide care for adults with developmental disabilities, officials confirmed this week.<\/p>\n
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services found numerous instances of alleged neglect, administrative mismanagement and other serious infractions within facilities administered by South Portland-based Quality Care Access and Portland-based WeCare Residential Services, according to documents obtained by the Portland Press Herald.<\/p>\n
The two organizations operate several small group homes across the state that provide services 24\/7 to a total of roughly 35 people with severe autism and other developmental disabilities. The agencies \u201cfailed to protect (their) patients from neglect\u201d inside those homes, according to notices DHHS sent to each company.<\/p>\n
In one of Quality Care\u2019s Saco group homes, DHHS observed a \u201cmedically fragile resident left unattended while requiring total staff support.\u201d In another, they found the home was without hot water. And in a group home the agency operates in Westbrook, Quality Care failed to \u201ccorrect conditions that posed a danger to an individual\u2019s safety,\u201d a DHHS report states, though it did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
In a New Gloucester facility operated by WeCare, investigators found \u201cconcerning structural damage\u201d and a lack of food. In several instances, residents had run away from the group home without caretakers\u2019 knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaw enforcement discovered resident sitting in the road in Falmouth, several miles
away from resident\u2019s home. Law enforcement returned to the residence and awoke (WeCare) staff to inform them of the elopement,\u201d DHHS\u2019 notice to the agency reads. \u201c(WeCare) staff informed law enforcement that resident was still in their bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both agencies incorrectly administered their patients\u2019 medication and employed staff without the necessary medical licenses, DHHS alleged.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe department issued Termination of Billing Privileges notices to WeCare Residential Services and Quality Care Residential Services on Sept. 14, 2026, notifying them that their billing privileges would end on Sept. 30, 2026, due to licensure denial,\u201d DHHS spokesperson Lindsay Hammes said in an email.<\/p>\n
Hammes declined to provide additional details. WeCare did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Rapha Nsenga, whose Congolese father founded Quality Care,<\/a> said the organization \u201cstrongly disputes\u201d DHHS\u2019 denial of its license and has appealed the decision.<\/p>\n \u201c(That appeal) means very little if our organization is forced out of existence before the hearing takes place. If residents are moved, employees leave, and our homes are emptied before the appeal is heard; a later decision in (Quality Care\u2019s) favor would come too late to undo the damage,\u201d Nsenga wrote.<\/p>\n Nsenga\u2019s statement said Quality Care has \u201cdeep concern for the health and safety\u201d of its clients but did not address DHHS\u2019 allegations of neglect and administrative malfeasance.<\/p>\n Laura Cordes, executive director of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, a group that represents home care and other healthcare providers, said any allegations of neglect are \u201cdifficult to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe subsequent additional disruption, now placed upon individuals with disabilities and their families to find a new home and supports that match their individual needs in a community where they want to be \u2014 near family and or friends or activities that are a part of their lives \u2014 is of great concern as the state\u2019s timeline is short,\u201d Cordes said in a written statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe provider community is working quickly to help individuals explore their options and facilitate safe and successful transitions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The department\u2019s decision to refuse the agencies\u2019 license renewals and revoke their ability to bill MaineCare, the state\u2019s Medicaid program, comes amid a protracted battle between national Republicans and Maine Democrats<\/a> over alleged fraud and abuse within the program.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have repeatedly claimed widespread fraud<\/a> within Maine\u2019s Medicaid program, often without offering specifics or proof.<\/p>\n \u201c(Gov. Janet Mills) has actually fought back against our efforts to identify fraud in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, which, by the way, not only does it steal from you, but it means that those programs are gonna go bankrupt, because all the money\u2019s going to the fraudsters,\u201d Vance said during a May speech in Bangor.<\/a><\/p>\n Oz claimed that during his visit to Maine this year he found that 90% of the state\u2019s home care services were committing fraud. He did not provide evidence<\/a> to back that claim up, and Maine officials have pushed back against it.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the department\u2019s review is ongoing, our preliminary findings do not support the claim that 90% of services were inappropriately paid,\u201d Hammes said last month.<\/a><\/p>\n A federal audit released in January reported that Maine made at least $45.6 million in improper Medicaid payments<\/a> for support services for autistic children in 2023.<\/p>\n In June, the Mills administration suspended payments to five providers<\/a> based on credible allegations of fraud. Her office and Maine DHHS have said they are cooperating with federal inquiries into alleged fraud.<\/p>\n DHHS has not accused either WeCare or Quality Care, the providers whose MaineCare billing privileges are being rescinded, of committing fraud. But both agencies share similarities with providers that have been investigated for fraudulent billing practices.<\/p>\n There are about a dozen home care companies registered to the same Portland address as WeCare, according to data from OpenCorporates.<\/a> All of them were founded after WeCare in 2022. Most are now inactive.<\/p>\n Prior May 2026, filings with the Maine Department of the Secretary of State<\/a> show Quality Care shared the same Lewiston address as Gateway Community Services, a provider whose Medicaid funding privileges were suspended in December<\/a> over credible allegations of fraud.<\/p>\n