LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Channel 13 is getting results for a licensed clinician who came to us after dealing with a delay in getting her Medicaid contract revalidated.
When Channel 13 met LaDwana Retic for the first time, she had been encouraged by clients and colleagues to reach out to us after seeing the results a valley speech language pathologist got dealing with a similar issue.
At that point, she was seeing her clients — who come to her for help after experiencing some type of trauma — for free.
WATCH | LaDwana Retic turns to Channel 13 for help:
She relies on Medicaid reimbursement for the services she provides them, and for the six or seven regulars, she got $100 each, per week. Her contract expired on May 20. And for days, she didn’t get anything.
“I’m not interested in abandoning my clients,” she said on June 16. “Most of them have abandonment issues, so that’s just not an option to not see my clients.”
But two days later, after Channel 13 reached out to the Nevada Health Authority on Retic's behalf, she got a call she’d been hoping for.
“Everything just got approved and cleared,” she said, recalling the phone call from the state last Thursday, informing her that her contract application was approved and she was active once again.
Retic called it, "a sigh of relief that you just cannot explain."
Now, she’s set until 2031 with this active contract.
The Nevada Health Authority previously told Channel 13 they typically see a delay in application processing this time of the year due to some providers waiting until the last minute to submit their applications.
Retic tells us she is not one of those people, and hopes the wait will soon be over for others she knows who are dealing with similar issues.
The NVHA told Channel 13 they want to hear from providers experiencing issues with this process. Anyone can reach out for help at: ProviderEnrollment@nvha.nv.gov
