7 Secrets to Lowering Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Costs and Increasing Operational Efficiencies for Medicare Advantage Plans

Like many in healthcare, today’s Medicare Advantage plans are tasked with finding ways to reduce costs and increase operational efficiencies while providing competitive benefits.

Ride-sharing is a rapidly growing industry that is changing consumer expectations around transportation. Approximately 25% of the U.S. population1 uses ride-sharing services at least once per month.  

Medicare Advantage plans can maintain a competitive advantage in the crowded payer market by keeping pace with changes in consumer behavior and member expectations. Members are used to the convenience of ride-sharing services for buying groceries and visiting friends and family. Why not extend that convenience to getting to routine medical appointments on time and picking up prescriptions?

Learn how to lower costs, increase operational efficiencies, and meet changing consumer expectations with a new approach to patient care logistics.

7 Ways to Transform Your Approach to Patient Care Logistics

Here are seven ways your Medicare Advantage plan can reduce transportation-related costs while increasing operational efficiencies.

1. Stop faxing paperwork. Faxing is time intensive for plan employees and care teams; not to mention challenging to track. Using a SaaS platform to manage transportation scheduling and execute services will result in significant time savings and increased member satisfaction.
2. Build networks of trusted third-party transportation providers with local expertise. Cut out the middleman and reduce reliance on costly NEMT brokers. Partnering directly with services like Uber Health with existing on-the-ground networks in a market can significantly reduce NEMT-related costs.
3. Reduce members’ dependence on ambulance services. The easier you make it for members to get to routine medical appointments, fill prescriptions, and obtain durable medical equipment (DME), the lower the likelihood that they will require more costly episodes of care, including expensive ambulance rides and visits to the emergency room.  
4. Enable care teams to pre-schedule covered transportation services. For members with ESRD, the ability to have their care team pre-schedule transportation to and from dialysis appointments can ensure they’re getting the regular care they need before hospitalization or an ambulance ride is necessary. Ensure your scheduling solution enables scheduling standing orders for patients weeks or months in advance.
5. Integrate with your plan’s existing systems and billing records. Administration of transportation-related member benefits should easily integrate with your plan’s existing systems. Integration not only increases operational efficiencies, it can also help fight NEMT FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.
6. Look for administrative time saving opportunities with care delivery workflows. Setting up configurable workflows that meet the NEMT needs of member populations can be a significant time savings for plans.
7. Elevate the importance of patient care logistics. As healthcare starts to recognize the critical importance of the social determinants of health (SDOH), access to reliable transportation is a key driver for continued wellness. Implementing benefits around whole-person care can have significant financial and operational benefits across the healthcare ecosystem resulting in fewer, lower-cost episodes of care.

Realizing Financial and Operational Gains with NEMT

There has never been a better time for Medicare Advantage plans to transition from a loose network of non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers to a comprehensive patient care logistics solution.

Learn how a PATIENT CARE LOGISTICS SOLUTION can help your Medicare Advantage plan realize lower costs while increasing operational efficiencies.