Buck Poropatich, Head of Lyft Healthcare, on removing transportation as a barrier to improve access to healthcare

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In this episode, I sat down with Buck Poropatich, Head of Lyft Healthcare. Lyft Healthcare launched in 2016 as part of Lyft’s broader efforts to address transportation barriers in healthcare.

Today, Lyft Healthcare partners with 9 of the 10 largest US health systems, non-emergency medical transportation brokers, and the top 10 payers to provide rides across the patient journey. By providing reliable transportation through its extensive network, Lyft Healthcare helps reduce patient no-shows, enhance the member experience, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Lyft Healthcare’s commitment to advancing healthcare access has also helped healthcare providers reduce operating expenses.

Leveraging his healthcare background and passion for accessible care, Buck has been a driving force behind Lyft Healthcare’s growth since joining in 2019. His leadership helped secure key partnerships with industry leaders like ChenMed, CVS, and Kroger Health, alongside countless others.

Buck and I discussed:

• Lyft Healthcare’s founding story after the company discovered a hidden product-market fit in the healthcare industry.
• How Lyft leverages its core technology stack and driver network, and the importance of customization and rearchitecting to integrate healthcare logistics.
• Creative partnerships with companies like Best Buy Health and Instacart Health that have enhanced Lyft Healthcare’s services and expanded their reach in the healthcare space.
• Lyft Healthcare’s alignment with the shift towards value-based care, as transportation plays a strategic role in improving care adherence, member satisfaction, and managing total cost of care.
• Lyft Healthcare’s goal to address social isolation and loneliness by providing transportation services that enable individuals to engage in social activities and access necessary medical appointments.
• Future expansion plans for Lyft Healthcare include expanding their Medicaid footprint, extending their Lyft Assisted product, and leveraging mobile app technology and data modeling to improve the member experience.

Beginning to 9:46 — The spark that led to the idea of Lyft Healthcare and initial challenges in integrating healthcare logistics with Lyft’s technology

Lyft Healthcare’s inception story is a testament to the natural progression of a service meeting an emerging market need, particularly within the healthcare sector. The journey began when Lyft’s fraud detection systems flagged unusual activity in 2016: a large number of rides being ordered in one city but dispatched in another. This anomaly led to the discovery that a transportation manager, working for a health plan serving Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members in New York, was orchestrating these rides using multiple phones. This unconventional method was employed to ensure patients could attend their medical appointments, showcasing a novel and more efficient way to address transportation barriers in healthcare. Lyft’s flexible and reliable transportation solution offered an advantage over traditional methods, which often involved long wait times and a lack of transparency and convenience.

The discovery underscored a significant, yet underappreciated, challenge within healthcare: millions of Americans were missing or delaying essential medical care solely due to the lack of transportation. This gap revealed not only the direct link between transportation and health outcomes but also how broader social determinants of health influence patient well-being. As Lyft delved deeper into this issue, it became evident that their platform could offer a strategic solution to this pervasive problem, leading to the formal establishment of Lyft Healthcare. Lyft Healthcare was a natural extension of Lyft’s overall mission to “improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation” with its focus on bridging the transportation gap for healthcare access and ultimately improving health outcomes.

“We’ve got a real fit here. There’s a real opportunity, and this is really an attractive space for us to play.”

Merging healthcare logistics with Lyft’s tech wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Unlike the simple phone tap used to hail a ride in Lyft’s app, healthcare transportation involves multiple players to coordinate between. With a consumer Lyft ride, it’s all about you (the rider): you request, you ride, and you pay. But in a healthcare context, things get intricate. Now, healthcare providers like transportation managers or care coordinators are booking rides on your behalf, ensuring that you’ll get to your appointment. Behind the scenes, health plans or the State may be stepping in to cover the cost.

To address this, Lyft had to customize its existing rideshare solution to create a B2B platform that catered to the healthcare use case. And while they had a solid foundation to build on thanks to their technology and network, it wasn’t just a copy-paste job.

“Healthcare is a unique market in many, many ways… It is not an easy pivot to focus on B2B, enterprise, specifically healthcare.”

9:46–17:45 Lyft Healthcare’s creative partnerships with Instacart Health and Best Buy Health and its B2B commercial strategies

One of the most fascinating aspects of Lyft Healthcare is its creative partnerships with new entrants in the healthcare space, notably with Instacart Health and Best Buy Health, underscoring its adaptive approach to expanding its services within the healthcare ecosystem. These partnerships allow Lyft to leverage the expertise and capabilities of these organizations to provide a more tailored and impact-driven approach to healthcare transportation.

For example, Lyft’s partnership with Best Buy Health focuses on addressing senior mobility and providing an elevated level of service for older adults. Best Buy Health’s Jitterbug phone solution and wraparound call center services complement Lyft’s transportation services, offering a comprehensive solution tailored to the senior market. Similarly, their partnership with Instacart Health taps into the burgeoning “food as medicine” space, aligning with Lyft’s expansive healthcare footprint and logistical capabilities without straying from its core competencies. Through these collaborations, Lyft Healthcare not only broadens its service offerings but also reinforces its role as a facilitator of comprehensive healthcare solutions, prioritizing impact and efficiency in meeting the diverse needs of patients and healthcare providers.

“Let’s collaborate, let’s focus on what we do best… Let’s stay incredibly disciplined.”

20:12–24:56 Lyft Healthcare’s alignment with the shift from fee-for-service to value-based care in pushing forward broader industry movements

Lyft Healthcare’s model and focus on improving access aligns seamlessly with the shift towards value-based care. Buck explains that Lyft’s services can contribute to value-based care by improving care adherence, increasing member satisfaction, and managing the total cost of care. By providing reliable and accessible transportation, Lyft helps organizations like ChenMed and Oak Street Health to empower primary care and preventative services, reducing the need for costly inpatient services and emergency room visits. The shift towards value-based care also emphasizes the importance of addressing social determinants of health, such as transportation barriers. By ensuring that individuals can access the care they need, Lyft Healthcare contributes to improved health outcomes and cost savings for healthcare organizations.

“Transportation is associated with greater use of primary care, greater use of preventative care, lower inpatient utilization, lower ER visits.”

24:56–27:45 How social isolation is linked to transportation insecurity and Lyft Healthcare’s impact on addressing social isolation and loneliness post-COVID

Social isolation and loneliness have become significant issues, particularly in the post-COVID era. Buck highlights the role of Lyft Healthcare in addressing these challenges by providing transportation that enables individuals to engage with their communities and combat social isolation. Studies have shown that transportation insecurity is closely linked to social isolation, and Lyft’s services can help bridge this gap.

By providing rides to social events, family gatherings, and other community engagements, Lyft Healthcare helps individuals combat social isolation and improve their overall well-being. Buck shares the results of a study conducted with AARP, UnitedHealth, and Keck Medicine at USC, where older adults with chronic diseases were given access to Lyft for three months. The study found that 90% of participants reported an increase in happiness, independence, and quality of life. These findings highlight the positive impact that Lyft’s transportation services can have on combating social isolation and improving mental health.

“Those that identified as socially isolated showed a 73% increase in being transportation insecure…Anytime you’re taking a Lyft, you’re getting in a car with somebody else, you’re going somewhere, a social event, an evening with friends, family. There is a level of social engagement that is a byproduct of what we do.”

27:45-End: Future plans for Lyft Healthcare in new markets and services, including expansion to Medicaid, and new product roll-outs such as Lyft Assisted and data modeling

Looking ahead, Lyft Healthcare has ambitious plans for expansion and service enhancements. Buck outlines two key areas of focus: expanding Lyft’s footprint in the Medicaid market and further developing Lyft Assisted, a door-to-door service that provides an elevated level of assistance for individuals with specific needs.

Expanding Lyft’s presence in the Medicaid market is a priority, as Medicaid represents a significant segment of the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) industry. Lyft Healthcare aims to increase its eligibility as a provider of NEMT services in more states, ensuring that Medicaid members have access to reliable transportation for their medical appointments.

Lyft Assisted, the door-to-door service, has already seen success in multiple markets. The service provides additional support for individuals who require assistance beyond standard transportation. Lyft Healthcare plans to expand the availability of Lyft Assisted to more markets, ensuring that individuals with specific needs can access the care they require with ease and dignity.

When Buck took the helm at Lyft Healthcare in 2021, his primary focus was to maintain the trajectory set by the existing strategy and to ensure the retention of the team’s extraordinary talent, especially amidst the challenges posed by the “Great Resignation” period. Buck credits his tenure with a heightened customer obsession within Lyft Healthcare, a shift from merely understanding the logistical aspects of transportation to deeply empathizing with users’ experiences. Through immersive activities like driving, shadowing partners, and riding along with patients, the team gained invaluable insights into the nuanced needs of their service users. This empathy-driven approach led to the development of features tailored to enhance user experiences, such as precise location pickups and better communication tools for caregivers. Buck emphasizes that the essence of Lyft Healthcare’s impact lies in addressing foundational access issues, ensuring that individuals, irrespective of income, can reach necessary medical appointments, thereby democratizing access to essential healthcare services.

“Fast forward to today. We’re in 23 states plus DC. and we’re not going to obviously stop at 23…Throw it in the category of operational excellence. There’s a lot we can do here and a lot more to come”

We are very appreciative to Buck for sharing his vision with us in this episode of The Pulse Podcast! Subscribe to our new releases on Twitter, Spotify or Apple podcasts.