Kacey Dugan Discusses Impacts of Healthcare Cuts on Rideshare Apps With Modern Healthcare

Director of public policy and regulatory affairs Kacey Dugan spoke with Modern Healthcare to discuss the pending Medicaid cuts from a recent bill and how it would affect rideshare healthcare plans. The bill would not directly affect non-emergency transportation (NEMT) services, but fewer beneficiaries means fewer people needing rides for healthcare appointments.

Rideshare apps that offer healthcare to drivers have benefited from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which codified that Medicaid would cover NEMT services. The law does not pose any direct threat to the rideshare apps’ work with Medicaid populations but the proposed budget cuts could lead to other challenges, said Dugan.

“Fewer people on Medicaid means fewer people with benefits because while there are some instances in which a commercial or Medicare Advantage plan will cover some type of transportation service, there's no equivalent to the NEMT benefit in commercial coverage that people could transition to,” Dugan said. “So when you reduce the number of people on Medicaid, you will reduce almost to one to one the number of people with access to an NEMT benefit.”

The full article is available to Modern Healthcare subscribers.