Non-Emergency Medical Transportation in the Time of COVID-19

During normal times, over 3.6 million Americans miss or delay medical care due to transportation barriers. Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT), transportation to medical appointments, pharmacies, lab visits, and other types of routine care for the transportation-disadvantaged, aims to reduce this barrier.
During the current pandemic, the movement has slowed as people shelter in place.

Traditional NEMT options have narrowed or disappeared as public transportation and paratransit stop or operate at reduced schedules, and family and neighbors become less willing to provide transit (lest the infection spread, as occurred in New Rochelle, New York, where an ill individual infected the neighbor providing transportation to the hospital). Still, people have to obtain non-emergency but necessary medical care, including kidney dialysis, chemotherapy, and prenatal care visits.

Transportation problems are often cited as a barrier to receiving care and medical compliance. NEMT, covered by Medicaid and certain Medicare Advantage plans, is associated with greater use of preventive and primary health care, lower use of emergency services and inpatient services, and timely medical care among certain health conditions. These services continue to be needed during a pandemic, especially among the chronically ill, a group that may already face greater transportation barriers than the general public.

Reduced transportation options create almost impossible dilemmas. For highly vulnerable populations, like older adults living independently, using public transportation-NEMT involves either risking potential infection to travel to the places they need to go, or possibly risking other adverse health outcomes by not traveling to necessary medical care. Other NEMT options, such as family or friends driving, ambulances, or “hand vans” picking up individuals, become difficult in a pandemic as resources become scarce and people isolate themselves by necessity.

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Lyft and Uber have been providing NEMT, since 2016 and 2018 respectively, through a ride-share model. Generally, the service has yielded positive results; studies found patients using rideshare-based NEMT had fewer missed primary care appointments, a lower average wait time, a higher rate of on-time pickup compared to those using other types of NEMT, and lower costs.

While other forms of transportation become increasingly unavailable due to quarantine, lack of access to public transit, or reserving transit for emergencies such as ambulances reserved for transferring COVID-19 patients, TNCs may be uniquely suited to current needs. With high scalability and an existing service model available, rideshare could address transportation needs.

Oceans Drive Transportation can do more than just provide NEMT during the current crisis. They can deliver (and as of April 15th are delivering) food to individuals in medical quarantine or who are unable to safely shop for themselves, supplementing existing grocery delivery services who are currently overwhelmed. They can also deliver goods from open stores, such as pharmacy items, including sanitizing materials, non-prescription drugs, and personal care products.

The more widespread availability of rideshare for NEMT may save lives, reserve emergency resources for those who need them, and provide safe pathways to primary care for the chronically ill. It may also save livelihoods, providing employment in a time of economic hardship. Rideshares cannot offer everything, but there are things that could be done to support rideshare in doing the one thing their drivers do very well: move people and things to where they need to be.

When it comes to transportation, make Oceans Drive Transportation your first call and you’ll see quickly – whether using our services once or regularly. Quality, respectful, and dependable Non-Emergency transportation, WheelChair Trasportation and Senior Transportatio is available to you.  You just need to give us a call to get it for yourself.