CareMore Health System’s Collaboration With Lyft Improves Access to Care, Reduces Transportation Cost and Wait Times

CERRITOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A collaboration with Lyft to provide nonemergency medical transportation
for CareMore Health System’s Medicare Advantage beneficiaries is already
reducing transportation wait times by 30 percent, according to results
of a pilot study released in the Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA).

Individuals using the service are now waiting an average of just nine
minutes to be taken to or from their medical appointment. The JAMA
article, “Nonemergency
Medical Transportation: Delivering Care in the Era of Lyft and Uber”
notes that average per-ride costs have been reduced by more than 30
percent (from $31.54 to $21.32). Satisfaction with the new program,
which covers beneficiaries in selected areas of southern California,
exceeded 80 percent. CareMore plans to continue the program and
potentially expand to markets beyond California.

The federal government currently spends an estimated $2.7 billion on
nonemergency medical transportation each year. Individuals with the
highest burden of chronic disease and those who are older, poorer and
members of ethnic or racial minorities have the greatest transportation
barriers. Lack of transportation to medical care can result in delayed
treatment, causing chronic diseases to worsen.

“Great clinical care is only great if patients can get to it;
ultimately, our partnership with Lyft makes accessing health care
easier,” said Dr. Sachin H. Jain, president of CareMore. “Although the
program is in the early phases, the results are promising and represent
a significant shift – challenging the status quo to do what is right for
patients.”

CareMore’s program with Lyft addresses a major health care problem, as
research suggests that an estimated 3.6 million Americans miss or delay
receiving nonemergency care each year due to transportation challenges.
Lack of access to consistent, affordable transportation can cause
difficulties in maintaining medical appointments, ultimately affecting
an individual’s ability to receive necessary care.

“At Lyft, we’re focused on improving transportation and treating people
better,” said David Baga, chief business officer of Lyft. “Providing
nonemergency medical transportation is crucial, and we’re proud to be
working with CareMore to make a difference in the lives of patients.”

To use the service, patients call CareMore to schedule their
transportation, and CareMore and National MedTrans Network, Inc. (NMN),
a medical transportation management organization, use Lyft’s Concierge
platform to coordinate rides, ensuring patients are picked up faster and
transported safely and reliably.

“The collaboration between CareMore, Lyft and NMN is unprecedented in
the goal to truly leverage technology to change the patient experience,”
said Billy McKee, president of NMN. “We’re pointed in the right
direction and making progress.”

The JAMA article was based on data involving 479 nonemergency medical
rides among Medicaid beneficiaries in New York and CareMore’s Medicare
Advantage beneficiaries in California between May 2 and June 6, 2016.
Data was collected and analyzed by authors Brian W. Powers, AB, Harvard
Medical School, Harvard Business School and CareMore Health System;
Scott Rinefort, MBA, CareMore Health System; and Sachin H. Jain, MD,
MBA, CareMore Health System and Stanford University School of Medicine.

About CareMore

CareMore has invested in developing an extensive clinical infrastructure
centered on high-touch patient care for Medicare beneficiaries and other
populations. Its clinical model is an innovative health care delivery
approach that proactively addresses the health needs of members of
Medicare and/or Medicaid plans by focusing on prevention and highly
coordinated care, resulting in clinical outcomes above the national
average. Today, the CareMore model provides care for more than 100,000
Medicare Advantage and Medicaid members of health plans in California,
Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa and Georgia. CareMore
also is participating in a dual demonstration project in parts of Los
Angeles County in conjunction with state and federal regulators to
coordinate care for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. For
more information about CareMore, go to www.caremore.com

About Lyft

Lyft was founded in June 2012 by Logan Green and John Zimmer to
reconnect people and communities through better transportation. Lyft is
the fastest growing rideshare company in the U.S. and is available in
200 cities. Lyft is preferred by drivers and passengers for its safe and
friendly experience, and its commitment to driving positive change for
the future of our cities.

About National MedTrans Network, Inc.

National MedTrans Network, Inc. (NMN) leverages technology, data and
analytics to deliver best in class experiences for varied populations in
nonemergency medical transportation and care coordination. Since 2005,
we have delivered nonemergency medical transportation benefit management
solutions to managed care, governmental, nonprofit, private and
consumer-facing payers.

Contacts

CareMore
Emily Hackel
(347) 852-0066
Emily.Hackel@CareMore.com
or
Lyft
Tim
Rathschmidt
(646) 808-6439
timr@lyft.com