Millions of Medicaid and Medicare patients have trouble getting transportation to and from nonemergency medical appointments each year, potentially exacerbating chronic conditions and leading to higher healthcare costs down the road. But pilot programs show that partnerships with ride-hailing programs such as Lyft and Uber could provide a cost-effective solution to transportation barriers.
The federal government spends an estimated $2.7 billion each year on nonemergency medical transportation for Medicaid patients, noted an opinion piece published Tuesday in JAMA, theJournal of the American Medical Association. But, through partnerships with ride-hailing programs, private payers are getting in on the action as well.