ORANGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alignment Healthcare, a mission-based Medicare Advantage insurance company founded in 2013, today announced an agreement with Uber Health, a HIPAA-secure solution that allows health care providers to arrange rides for those who need it most. As an extension of Alignment’s ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program, an around-the-clock service the company provides to its California plan members at no additional cost, Uber Health will augment the “on-demand” transportation options already available for its Medicare Advantage plan members in 2020.
“Transportation is a key social determinant of health that affects access to care – with Uber Health, we are bolstering the options we provide our members to ensure they never have to miss an appointment or delay care due to lack of transportation,” said Dawn Maroney, consumer president at Alignment Healthcare.
Social determinants of health, such as food instability or lack of transportation, directly affect health outcomes. According to research in the Journal of Community Health, transportation barriers are often cited as barriers to health care access that lead to rescheduled or missed appointments, delayed care and missed or delayed medication use. Many of Alignment’s 2020 Medicare Advantage plan choices include social service benefits such as transportation to assist seniors who may be facing these everyday social challenges.
Launched in 2018, Uber Health has partnered with more than 1,000 health care organizations to deliver non-emergency medical transportation.
“By improving access to more efficient, flexible and transparent mobility solutions, Uber Health helps reduce barriers to care and improve health care outcomes in the communities it serves,” said Dan Trigub, Head of Uber Health. “We are excited to help Alignment Healthcare close these gaps that prevent seniors and some of our most vulnerable populations from getting to and from their appointments and reducing overall health care costs for providers and patients.”
Alignment will begin using the Uber Health dashboard to schedule non-emergency, curb-to-curb pickup and drop-off service to plan-approved locations for members in select California markets in early 2020. Launched on Jan. 1, 2019, Alignment’s ACCESS On-Demand Concierge program is available to all Alignment Health Plan members, which includes exclusive concierge-level services ranging from 24/7 access to a doctor by phone or video to point-of-sale purchases of eligible items at more than 50,000 retailers across the country via a health care “black card.”
ABOUT UBER HEALTH
Uber Health is a HIPAA-secure solution that allows health care providers, non-emergency medical transportation brokers, and others within the continuum of care to arrange rides for those who need it most. Uber Health helps reduce barriers to care and supports improved health outcomes by delivering more efficient, flexible, and transparent mobility solutions. Over 1,000 health care organizations like ALC Solutions, Cerner, Boston Medical Center, and MedStar trust Uber Health to provide reliable transportation to those they care for. For more, visit uberhealth.com.
ABOUT ALIGNMENT HEALTHCARE
Alignment Healthcare is redefining the business of health care by shifting the focus from payments to people. We’ve created a new model for health care delivery that cuts costs and improves lives by unraveling the inefficiencies of the current system to drive patients, providers and payers toward a common goal of wellness. Harnessing best practices from Medicare Advantage, our innovative data-management technology allows us to commit to caring for seniors and those who need it most: the chronically ill and frail. With offices and care centers across the country, Alignment Healthcare provides partners and patients with customized care and service where they need it and when they need it, including clinical coordination, risk management and technology facilitation. Alignment Healthcare offers health plan options to California residents through Alignment Health Plan, and partners with select health plans in North Carolina and Florida to help deliver better benefits at lower costs. For more information, please visit www.alignmenthealthcare.com.
