By Natalie DeCoste
Lyft announced the launch of a new healthcare service that will allow patients to receive free rides to and from medical appointments.
The service is called Lyft Pass for Healthcare, and it will allow health care organizations or social services agencies to create a budget and set approved pickup and drop-off locations for patients in need of medical care. The organization can share the pass with patients, who can apply it to their ride.
The service will extend to eligible patients, health plan members, and Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries who will now have more flexibility and control over their healthcare journey.
“We’re inserting a world class technology many are already familiar with into patients’ care journey. By leveraging our superpower in consumer tech, we’ve automated an important piece of health access that allows patients to be self-sufficient and in control, while allowing our partners to focus on the services they provide, rather than on administrative processes,” said Megan Callahan, VP of Lyft Healthcare.
The non-emergency medical transportation market is estimated to be a $3 billion market. For many people, transportation is a significant barrier to health care, and millions of people each year put off medical appointments because they do not have a way to get to them.
“Centene is committed to serving our communities and helping members get access to the COVID-19 vaccine. We know that transportation is a critical barrier and members want an option as easy and consumer-friendly as possible. Many of our members already use the Lyft app in their daily lives, and we’re applying that technology to ensure they also have access to COVID vaccinations,” said Dr. Ken Yamaguchi, Chief Medical Officer for Centene.
Lyft detailed the major features of its new service in a press release on its website. The company said that sponsoring organizations could easily determine the total budget for the service, the maximum cost of each ride, and the approved pickup and drop-off locations.
The organizations will be able to share the pass for the free rides via phone number, code, or direct link. The Lyft app will then notify the patient that the organization sent them a Lyft Pass, with details about which rides are covered.
The company already allows people to call in and arrange a ride, but it is a longer and more arduous process. Now that it is built into the app, Lyft is hoping that the streamlined process will benefit its riders.
This news comes shortly after Uber announced its new partnership with PayPal and Walgreens to provide free trips to COVID-19 vaccine sites. Uber’s service invites its customers to donate money to the Vaccine Access Fund, which in turn helps people in underserved communities get their vaccine.
Giving free or discounted rides to vaccine sites was part of Uber and Lyft’s joint effort to convince the Biden administration to vaccinate Uber and Lyft drivers.
