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The Lyft response giant, Lyft, has announced the expansion of its program offering seniors and low-income families discounted rides to get to grocery stores in order to mitigate the effects. poor nutrition on health outcomes.
Lyft's attack to a problem prevalent in the United States, while nearly 24 million people in the United States live in food deserts – or in areas where healthy food choices are scarce or even nonexistent. Lyft launched the program in more than a dozen cities in the United States and Canada after a successful pilot program in Washington DC.
Here is what it means:Lyft's partnership comes at a time when programs addressing the social determinants of health are a priority in the health care sector.
- Insurers have reduced their efforts to combat food insecurity and housing. UnitedHealthcare, for example, has looked at the effects of homelessness on overall health and has built more than 4,500 homes starting in March to help improve health outcomes. In one state, the insurer recorded a 50% decrease in the total cost of care for members enrolled in a housing program. And Blue Cross Blue Shield (CBCB) has launched a healthy food distribution service, foodQ, to combat problems such as diabetes.
- Providers offer patients appointments to overcome transportation barriers. Major US insurers, the BCBS and Humana, have asked Lyft to provide non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) to a subset of Medicare Advantage plan members. Finally, Oak Street Health, a service provider start-up, is partnering with Lyft to improve access to patient care. Engaging in NEMT makes sense for providers: Missed medical appointments cost $ 150 billion US per year.
The largest image: Lyft's new program can strengthen its health care role in the face of competition and help secure its paying partners.
- This new program helps Lyft stand out from its rival Uber in the healthcare sector. Uber also has plans for the health sector: it unveiled its Uber Health Health Platform – which allows hospital administrators to schedule NEMT for patients – in March 2018 and hintedat's expansion in its IPO earlier in the month. And while Uber far exceeds Lyft's market share in the United States, Lyft beat Uber to the forefront in the healthcare sector. He launched his concierge service in 2016. And now, Lyft has defeated Uber to provide consumers with access to food: Uber launched a grocery delivery service in October 2018, but it did not materialize diving.
- And this initiative should help Lyft forge new partnerships in the health sector. Lyft is now more valuable to potential insurance partners, who are incentivized to reduce the costs badociated with poor nutrition. More than 50% of chronic diseases are related to poor nutrition and these diseases account for 90% of the US $ 3.3 trillion spent annually on health care.
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