Dive Brief:
- Lyft is partnering with blockchain startup Solve.Care to increase access and options around nonemergency medical transportation for the health IT company's virtual wallet holders.
- By integrating with Lyft, Solve.Care users will be able to schedule rides to hospitals, doctor offices and pharmacies. They can also pay for rides using Care.Wallet and share ride costs with employers, insurers and others.
- The arrangement also enables providers, patients and family members to coordinate arrival times, schedule adjustment, cost and assistance.
Dive Insight:
The collaboration comes as Lyft is expanding its footprint in healthcare and preparing to take the company public. In an S-1 form filed earlier this month with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lyft singled out its partnerships with healthcare systems as a major source of economic benefit for communities by helping ensure patients get to their medical appointments.
Lyft has already teamed up with a number of healthcare organizations. A year ago, the ridesharing app linked up with Allscripts to develop a healthcare platform that allows doctors and hospitals to offer NEMT to patients.
The company said last month it will expand its collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield Institute and LogistiCare to bring NEMT to some BCBS Medicare Advantage plans — taking advantage of a 2018 CMS rule that authorizes payment of certain nonmedical benefits for MA plan members.
With the more flexible MA benefits, Lyft also upgraded its Concierge product to better support healthcare facilities and patients.
Lyft tallied 8.1 billion bookings and $2.2 billion in revenue in 2018, according to the S-1 form. The company has previously said that about a third of its riders use the app for medical appointments.
"By partnering with Lyft, our platform will provide a more efficient and seamless experience for patients and enable payers, employers, and other agencies to improve patient satisfaction through timely access to care, reduced wait times, and simpler cost-sharing and access to transportation subsidies," Solve.Care CEO Pradeep Goel said in a statement.
Based in Estonia, Solve.care's blockchain-powered platform allows users in the U.S. and elsewhere to access a variety of healthcare services using its mobile app Care.Wallet. Lyft and Care.Wallet can both be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.