Hi everyone, this is Hayley, co-host of the Paws Podcast. My guest today is Buck Prokopich, head of Lyft Healthcare. Lyft Healthcare launched in 2016 as part of Lyft’s broader effort to improve access to medical appointments and address social determinants of health by removing transportation barriers to activities that promote better health. Buck has been instrumental in the development and the growth of Lyft’s healthcare division since he joined in 2019, with notable partnerships with Chainmed, CVS, and Kroger Health. In this episode, we talked about how the company unlocked the hidden product market share in healthcare enablement back in 2016. We chatted about Lyft Healthcare’s innovative partnerships with companies like Best Buy Health, and their expansion plans in the Medicaid program across the country. As the industry focuses more towards value-based care, we also explored Lyft Healthcare’s alignment with the shift and its impact on addressing social isolation and loneliness, especially in the post-COVID era. I hope you enjoyed the conversation. Hi, Buck. Welcome to the Pulse Podcast. How are you doing today? I’m doing fantastic. Excited to be here. Well, thank you so much. I’m personally very excited for today’s conversation as well as a loyal Lyft team member and an aspiring future innovator in the healthcare space. Especially in recent years, hashtag big tech plus healthcare has been such a trending topic on campus within and beyond the industry. Before getting to your experience as the head of Lyft Healthcare, we have a fun icebreaker question that we like to ask our guests. What did you want to be when you grew up? Oh man. I mean, honestly, I wanted to be a basketball player and I would still take anybody up in that offer if they actually had interest, but I think that day has probably passed. I did see you guys had Mark Cuban a couple of weeks ago though, so perhaps somebody over there can throw a word in. But no, seriously, that was, I mean, you know, when I was a child, that was definitely the goal, the dream. I think on a more serious note, a more relevant note, it wasn’t until really grad school, which coincided with the passing of the ACA, where I became more interested in healthcare and more on like my career trajectory I’ve been in in the last, you know, 10 or so years. Yeah. Well, I love the idea of the basketball player. We’ll definitely try to reach out to Mark and see what we can do there. I’m sure some of us definitely dream about the same in our childhood. Great. So to kick us off, I wonder if you can give the audience some background on Lyft Healthcare’s founding story. As some might argue, it’s definitely a very interesting combination. Can you describe the moment or event that sparked the idea for Lyft Healthcare? And how does Lyft Healthcare’s mission align with the overall mission for Lyft? Yeah, yeah. So on the origin story, it was interesting. It was really one of kind of an undeniable product market fit where whether we liked it or not, we’re going to be pulled into healthcare. So the story is, you know, the company started in 2012. That’s when John and Logan started Lyft Inc. And then in 2016, our fraud wires were tripped. And we’re trying to figure out why there were thousands of rides a day being ordered in Salt Lake City, but being dispatched in New York City. And upon a little bit of investigation, it was actually a transportation manager working on behalf of a health plan that was serving Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members in New York. And actually, we’re using dozens of burner phones that were thrown across the desk and ordering Lyft rides at this point through the app to make sure that these patients and members could get to and from their medical appointments. So they had essentially discovered, which is called a better mousetrap, that in 2016, provided another access point for these members. I mean, the traditional approach back in that day was you called and it’s improved a little bit. Don’t get me wrong. I want to disparage but it’s, it’s been a little bit of a slow roll. But how things were done, and to some extent still are, is you call days, weeks in advance, you get a pickup window and you wait for somebody to come. You don’t get that modern, you know, Lyft-like experience. We get the full end-to-end visibility into the trip. So you’re kind of waiting not to dissimilar from, you know, experience you might have with a Comcast or AT&T to get picked up. And obviously that can lead to a lot of challenges and a lot of downstream impact. So that, I think, was when the light bulb went out for Lyft. We’re like, wow, we’ve got a real fit here. There’s a real opportunity and this is really attractive space for us to play. I think what we hadn’t realized prior to that day in 2016 is that, you know, and this is, I think, pretty well documented now with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CDC, all sorts of academics putting reports out where there’s somewhere between 8 to 15 million American adults each year who miss or delay necessary medical care strictly because they don’t have a ride. And, you know, I think this is a little bit less the case today, but I think the challenge back, you know, in 2016 is before the social drivers of health and we got more attuned and aware of some of the challenges that these populations faces, a lot of us, even on the inside of the health care industries, thought more about health care as a, you know, $3, $4 trillion monolith that’s focused on the financing and the delivery of care and sometimes underappreciated the fact that it’s a lot of times these little, you know, $10 billion industries, a lot of times of which, you know, health care is really made up of hundreds and thousands of these little pockets that can truly move the needle and impact care, but perhaps were historically underappreciated. So that was kind of the spark of the event. Your other question in terms of the alignment to the, to lift health care mission, which is a great question, because I will say it does, you know, when you hear initially lift in health care, hopefully it’s less this today, but I think, you know, back in 2016, it was a little bit of a head scratcher trying to piece that combination together. But if you think about the mission of, of broader lift, it’s to improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation, right? That is the mission that John Lopen put forth. The mission of lift health care is improving health by ensuring everyone who needs a ride gets a ride regardless of age, income, or ability. And those two things are rather synergistic, right? There’s a lot of overlap between those two missions. This isn’t necessarily, you know, GE becoming a financial institution and becoming a bank, right? This is frankly a pretty obvious leap. And I think that’s demonstrated really with our origin story where this is a very natural extension for lift. And, you know, let’s be clear, lift has been very, you know, disciplined in terms of remaining a transportation focused company on North America, really focused on certain segments, use cases, and industries, and really doubling down on those. And I think healthcare is absolutely one of them. I think you’ll continue to see disproportionate resourcing and investment to make sure that we can maintain the leadership level we’ve had to date. Yeah. I really love the undeniable product market fit factor in this story and how seemingly a random incidents unlock a major use case in the company that they didn’t realize in the beginning. And I’m sure this is definitely where every startup found their dreams, their product to solve. So were there any initial challenges facing in integrating healthcare logistics with lift’s existing technology back then? There were. I mean, yeah, the first step was to get people off their burner phones, right? That was not a scalable, sustainable approach. So a kid there. But, you know, once we uncovered, you know, the opportunity and the impetus for this, there certainly was work to be done. The way I would think about it is if you think about the consumer side of the business, right, you’ve got a requester of the ride, the person actually taking the ride and the person paying for the ride, that’s all the same person on the core consumer use case. And the vast majority of the times there is one access point and workflow to orchestrate all three of those personas. And that’s a consumer app. Right. So it’s a bit more confined, a bit more consistent. And there’s a lot of continuity in that example. You put that within the context of health care, and that is a very different use case. Those are all different people in terms of the requester, the rider and the payer, all very different individuals or organizations. So if you think about it, the requester is going to be a social worker, a care coordinator, call center representative. Right. The rider is typically going to be an individual with on Medicaid or Medicare Advantage, a veteran, someone of that kind of profile. And then the payer is ultimately going to be, say, Medicaid agency, Medicare Advantage commercial plan. Again, could be the VA. There’s other pockets of could be a self-funding provider health system. But all three different organizations and individuals, which means you have a lot of different breakage points. There are a lot of different misalignments of incentives and communications and workflows that you’ve got to start to stitch together and provide visibility and transparency and tracking across all of those use cases. So there’s there was quite a bit to re-architect. The other thing in the health care use case is you don’t have a single access point where everyone’s doing this vis-a-vis of the app. Right. It had to be shifted to a B2B platform, accessible through a web portal or an API. But there was there was, you know, definitely work to be done. That said, I don’t want to discredit the fact that it was absolutely essential, the fact that we could, you know, stand on the shoulders of Lyft, Inc. to get us here. I mean, we absolutely leverage the core technology stack, the marketplace, you know, the driver network. But I think even that sequencing right from consumer to health care was essential. You could not have funded the technology stack of the nationwide on-demand driver network that we leverage today had you been going, you know, into health care first. You really had to do this cadence of consumer to health care. Now, there’s some tweaking. Don’t get me wrong. And there’s probably more than tweaking in the context of health care. You can’t just take an off-the-shelf rideshare product and throw it into health care. There’s there is quite a bit of work to be done, both on the technology side and the driver network, right, the driver network. There’s additional compliance and background checks to make sure that these drivers are eligible to service health care. But the core chassis is the same. So, you know, definitely some customization and re-architecting. But it is not a surprise that we are standing on the shoulders of Lyft to get the position we’ve gotten. It was it was, you know, an essential piece of the pie. Yeah, we know it’s never easy to start things new, not to even mention taking on probably one of the most unsolvable and challenging problem health care to Lyft’s place. But to help us understand a bit more about Lyft’s positioning in the overall health care space, can you elaborate on the unit’s business model, particularly in the context of your B2B approach? Yeah, honestly, I would say this is the harder pivot for Lyft or this was right back in 2016, the harder pivot. I think to the extent it was just a re-architecting a product and the technology, like, listen, that’s that’s the secret sauce of Lyft that plays to our strength, that plays to our experience. I think perhaps the the the muscle that needed to be flexed the most was the shift to enterprise, the shift to B2B and specifically shift to health care, because let’s be clear, health care is a unique market in many, many ways. So and yeah, there’s obviously I’m sure you will know plenty of examples where you had incredibly modern, delightful consumer tech companies come into health care with giant aspirations only to kind of fizzle out and, you know, pull back and go back to their core focus. And, you know, to be clear, I understand that pull to come into health care at some point for some of these organization becomes a law of large numbers where you’ve got to. It’s 18 percent of GDP. It is so large. And from the external side, it looks like it’s it’s ripe with opportunity. That said, it is not an easy pivot to focus on B2B enterprise, specifically health care. So I think it is kind of a real feather in our cap that we’ve been able to pull it off just to kind of paint the analogy. I think if you think about the consumer side of Lyft, you know, which is obviously B2C, it is focused on very quick, simple transactional decisions, right? You put that in the context of Lyft health care, and obviously now you’re starting to talk B2B. It is very different, right? You’re talking complex buying decisions that require deep trusting relationships. These can be seven, eight, nine figure contracts and deals. So a lot of thought goes into these deep customization, deep integration from an API perspective. So that entire go to market needs to change. Right. So that was definitely part of that shift that you saw us take in 2016 to really build that team out with people that have very deep experience within the health care context to make sure we’re doing that effectively. The thing that’s the same is pricing, right? So pricing from a consumer and health care perspective, there’s no difference in that regard. So that was one thing that was nice to keep consistent and familiar to those that we’re going to be using. Thank you for explaining to us. One thing that fascinates me personally about Lyft health care is all the unconventional partnerships you had with new entrants like Instacart Health, Best Buy Health. Could you share a bit more on how have partnerships like those enhanced Lyft services in the overall health care space? Yeah, I will say this has evolved a ton since 2016. I mean, if you go back to where we started. It started with an absolute land grab, right? We had a two to three kind of had two to three year head start on our competition. We understood this was a very attractive market. We understood this is one that we’re going to be very invested in. And frankly, it was go and integrate into every health care workflow possible, right? Every provider. Hospital, health system, transportation manager, go down the line of all the typical health care stakeholders that we wanted to make sure we were working with, even as far down into the digital health space. So think about EMR, CRMs, patient access, social determinative health platforms, etc., etc. So it was very much, you know, land grab, get everywhere you can, make Lyft the default. Fast forward to today, our strategy and approach has changed a lot. And frankly, this is reality of, you know, we’ve got now three, four thousand health care organizations leveraging our technology. We’ve become very selective. At this point, it’s much less about kind of marketing and and branding and make an announcement that we’re in the space and more so around, OK, what’s the actual patient member impact? What’s the business impact of doing this? Because obviously these integrations and these partnerships need to be not just established and contracted, but need to be maintained and enhanced over time. And to be clear, like health care, it is not short of solutions. Right. I mean, just look at the funding that has gone into the space over the last 10 years. I would just call it adequate. Right. It’s lacking great solutions, right, that truly move the needle. I think that’s where we really want to make sure we were focused on our core and partnering around the edges to make sure that we could not get distracted, remain focused. You know, to give you some of the examples and you called out Best Buy, I think that’s a great example of, you know, where their focus is on that senior market. They’re focused on, you know, and provide a couple of things that are really unique to them. They bring the jitterbug phone solution, which is kind of a senior focused hardware phone. And then they have a wraparound call center services, right, to make sure that they can appropriately service that market, which are two things that are absolutely necessary and also two things that are not quarter left. Like we’re not going to build a sustainable, durable advantage because we have, you know, hardware phones or wraparound call center service. This is not what we’re great at. Right. Similarly, you know, you mentioned it’s about health and that all food is medicine space. I mean, that is certainly having a moment. I feel like I can’t wake up and not see a new prognostication on the impact on the market there. And we get that question, we get the question of, hey, Lyft, you have a very large health care footprint, you have a nationwide driver network that could obviously be extended into delivery. Like, what are your thoughts about this? Like, what what do you want to do? And, you know, I think what we’ve kind of stuck with is like, listen, this is not about delivering an 18 dollar burrito on demand. Like that is not the food is medicine space. Like we’re talking in this space like medically tailored meals, produce boxes, culturally appropriate meals, dieticians, clinicians, nutritionists, all engaged in this process and making sure that they’re getting the right ROI, the right engagement, the right utilization and ultimately the right impact from these members. These a lot of times are mail order, right? That’s the most cost effective way to get these meals to these individuals, where sometimes it’s even vertically owned couriers. Right. So you’re not only putting together meals, you’re actually delivering based on your local density and your local footprint. And that’s again, these are taxpayer dollars funding these programs. And that is a very efficient way to make sure that gets done. So I go through that rant, say, like, you’ve got to be dedicated to the space. You’ve got to have a very you’ve got to go very, very deep. This is not just, you know, hey, I’ve got this product. Let me just extend it. This use case, which seems to make sense on the surface. So to the extent these are partner capabilities and things that are not core to list, which I would argue some of these, you know, in the food and medicine space is not. We’re going to look to partner, right? I think, you know, someone like Instacart’s a great example. And the beauty is with modern tech and APIs, you don’t have to do all this yourself. Right. Like the vast majority of our ride volume today from a healthcare perspective comes through API partnerships, meaning we are integrating directly into somebody else’s native workflow. Right. So to the extent our partners are like, hey, I want to bring a more comprehensive social driver of health sort of platform together. Like, absolutely. Like, let’s get it done and we’ll be part of that solution. So from a partnership perspective, and I think we’ve kind of banged on this drum for a while within Lyft Healthcare, it’s like, let’s collaborate. Let’s focus on what we do best. That’s where patients get the impact. Let’s stay incredibly disciplined. That whole phrase around go fast, go alone, go far, go together, I think is a very appropriate frame of mind when it comes to healthcare. And I don’t mean to be depressing or disparaging, but like fast doesn’t work in healthcare. Like very, very little is viral. Right. When, you know, again, when we come from that consumer side of the business, we can miss that reality. I remember this is like going back to my one of my very first engagements when I was coming out of grad school in healthcare. And I remember I flew to Pittsburgh and there was a healthcare meeting and I was meeting with Nancy Brown, who had become like a trailblazer titan in the industry. And I remember she had sold her company a couple of times. I was super nervous. And then coming out of grad school and just read the ACA and was, you know, all excited. And I was excited to see the change in disruption and see the impact of the ACA and expansion of Medicaid and the launching of the exchanges and the individual mandate. And I remember she kind of like laughs and kind of gave me that, oh, well, that’s that’s cute. You think it’s all going to change in the next year? And I think it was just for whatever reason, it still sticks with me of like it was a little bit of a reality of like this is a very large, complex, frankly, at times plodding industry. I mean, you could go back, I mean, like a joke about this, but like you could go listen to a 2016, 2010 podcast on interoperability and value based care and cost transparency and then listen to one today. And you might not notice a dramatic difference. We’re still talking about a lot of the same things. You know, it’s like grocery stores, gas stations and health care. It’s a little bit there should be a reality game of like is in 1994, 2004. Sometimes it’s hard to tell. And again, I don’t mean to say that from a disparaging perspective. I mean, really to say like critically of companies like ourselves or and and others getting in the space, like, you know, the member slash shopping experience in some of these industries has has not changed. And I think the way we change that is we focus on what we do great. We partner with others and we work very collaboratively and focus, focus, focus on the patient impact and see how we get that done. So, again, it’s a little bit of a of a rant. But as we think about partnerships, we’ve become very, very selective and knowing what we do and where we have an advantage and knowing where we need to partner with great organizations to extend the impact. Yeah, so I thought it was very insightful when you mentioned the remaining the core and pushing forward the edges from a technical standpoint, look for these API integrations and focus on the strategic integration. And I love all these synergies and innovations that connect the consumers with existing infrastructure and technology services that we are already using on a regular basis. And I’m sure with more tech giants entering the space, we can expect even more groundbreaking partnerships this year. But in our previous conversation, you mentioned Lyft Healthcare is also looking at value based care. Help us paint the picture here. How does Lyft’s model align with the shift from fee for service to the value based care model in healthcare? Yeah, I mean, I think the short of is I think we’re really, really well aligned. I’ll give you an analogy. Like if you think about it in terms of two buckets, bucket one is a fee for service provider. So put on that fee for service headset. And to the extent you’re thinking about transportation, you’re likely thinking about things like eliminating missed appointments. We know 20, 30 percent appointments go unfilled. And number one, number two reason could oftentimes be transportation. You’re also thinking about like patient throughput and clearing the discharge lounge and clearing the beds. And frankly, you’re thinking about transportation from a tool tactical perspective. Right. And to be more crass, you’re thinking about it in terms of reimbursement, maximizing reimbursement. Right. And that’s not to say anything negative. I think it’s just the reality of the way the incentive structure is set up and no margin of omission. So but that’s that’s bucket one. Right. I think about if you put in bucket two, and let’s just call that value based care. Right. And not, you know, a little bit of shared savings, you know, one, two percent around the edges. But true, like global cap, you know, full risk, first dollars through the door. So at that point, you think about organizations like Chen Med, Kano, Oak Street, used to be our one medical care max clinical. Yeah. I mean, there’s just there’s a there’s a number in that bucket. Right. And when they’re thinking about transportation, they’re thinking about it very strategically. Right. They’re thinking about things like improving care adherence and, you know, getting people to their wellness visits and improving member satisfaction and star ratings and and and managing their total cost of care through, you know, reducing inpatient services, reducing ER visits. Right. They’re thinking about it very, very strategically. And if you think about the per patient spend in those two buckets, bucket one, fee per service, bucket to value based care like those two things are not even close. The spend per patient in bucket two dwarfs anything in bucket one. And the reason being is they associate transportation with greater use of primary care, greater use of preventative care, lower inpatient utilization, lower ER visits, you know, more timely medical care among certain health health conditions that require these repeat visits, things like dialysis, things like cancer, et cetera. So I think as you continue to see the shift, let’s be clear, like this is not an overnight shift. This is another one of those things we’ve been talking about for quite a while. But I do think that pendulum is continuing to swing. I think it’s a good thing. And I say this a little bit tongue in cheek. But like if you’re a provider who believes your services are are valuable and that you’re helping people manage their health and keeping people at home and and out of the hospital, it feels very appropriate to when you have members that fit into that bucket of, you know, the 10, 15 million Americans who who can’t access the carriage here, that you should be able to identify them and provide them the transfer of transportation they need to make sure that they’re getting to your services. So as we continue to improve the identification of those individuals, the documentation of who they are, we can start to precision really provide some of this benefit and some of the value. And I say that like, listen, the last thing we’re advocating for is for, you know, helicoptering rides from the sky to commercial members like, you know, commercial members are able and have no barriers or insecurities around transportation. But they’re absolutely ours and our community or our people in our community that do. And we should make sure that we’re getting them to that necessary care. So, again, I think we will play a pretty big role in value based care as it continues to go. And I think we’ve we’ve seen that to date and look forward to doing more of it in the future. Yeah, certainly waiting for the helicopter day to call. One of the tagline from Lift Healthcare is to meet patients where they are. And I think what we just heard fits perfectly with this mission from a personalized yet quality assurance standpoint. Speaking of this, can you share about the role and the impact you see Lift Healthcare having on the problem of social isolation and loneliness, especially post the COVID times? Yeah, absolutely. I think the short of it is that we’re doing work here today, but we’re just scratching the surface. I mean, this this problem is pretty massive. Yeah, I’ll share some stats to just frame it up a little bit. CDC came out with, I think, a quarter of seniors are now identified to be socially isolated, which leads to a 50 percent increase in dementia, 25 percent increase in heart disease and stroke. So massive problem. And we know transportation could be part of the solution here. I mean, there was a survey a couple of months ago where they looked at 20,000 Medicare Advantage members. Those that identified as socially isolated showed a 73 percent increase in being transportation insecure, not having access to transportation. And I rattle off some of these stats and it becomes a little bit obvious, like, yes, transportation and social isolation are linked. Like, that’s pretty clear. And this is what we do. We talked about the Best Buy example. There’s a courtesy. I mean, there’s probably dozens of others in our book that we are focused on addressing senior mobility and getting people out in their communities. We did some research to highlight this a couple of years ago with AARP, United Health and Kern Medical down in L.A. where we gave Medicare Advantage members with a chronic disease access to Lyft for three months. And at the end of those three months, 90 percent said they wanted to continue to use Lyft. Thirty five percent. We saw a 35 percent increase in their physical activity as measured by Fitbit. And then 90 percent, more than 90 percent self-reported, you know, an increase in happiness, an increase in independence, an increase in kind of their quality of life. So I think it really just highlights that. And to be honest, it’s part of the reason I really enjoy working at Lyft is this is kind of a byproduct of what we do. Like so much of technology is about keeping people apart, right? Digitally engaged, virtually engaged and keeping people kind of behind the screen. Lyft is the exact opposite, right? It’s just I mean, any time you’re taking a Lyft, you’re getting in the car with somebody else. You’re going somewhere, a social event, an evening with friends, family. I mean, when somebody tells me, you know, I took a Lyft this weekend, the next question is like, great, where’d you go? Where’d you see? What’d you do? Like there is a a level of social engagement that is a byproduct of that. When somebody tells you, you know, I spent the weekend on social media, you might not have you know, you might have a little bit more concern about the well-being. Right. So some of this is, again, obvious. And I think shame on us if we can’t do more in this space. I think I feel pretty confident in the coming quarters. You’ll see more from us here. And we’re really, really excited about the impact we can have. Yeah, it’s really inspiring to hear how Lyft is addressing this longstanding health care equity issue. And I love when you mentioned that Lyft is doing everything you can to fundamentally address this issue. As we come close to the end of our time, looking forward, what are the future expansion plan for Lyft health care in terms of new markets or services? Yeah, I’ll try to give you two in each. So on the market side, listen, this market, Mount Emergency Medical Transportation, by far the largest segment is Medicaid. Right. Like it is that is truly where the biggest challenge is. It’s probably 80 percent of the market. And in the Medicaid space, transportation is, you know, has been a benefit since the 60s, the advent of Medicaid. And it was actually codified by Congress a couple of years ago to the extent it is now formally cemented as part of the benefit. Now, each state kind of has its own flavor, eligibility and authorization, et cetera. But broadly speaking, if you’re on Medicaid and you have a transportation insecurity and are unable to get to a necessary medical appointment, you’re going to be provided that ride. Now, the challenge for us was back in 2016, almost until 2018, 2019, we’re in zero states. Right. We had to go and work hand in hand with each state agency to get become an eligible provider of Mount Emergency Medical Transportation. So we started in zero states of the largest segment in this industry. Fast forward to today, we’re in 23 states plus D.C. I think we cover 60, 65 percent of all Medicaid members. So we have to stay still a little bit in the larger states. So tremendous progress. And we’re not going to obviously stop at 23. We’ll add a handful more this year. We think we’ll continue to to to unlock more and more. We have a fantastic team as part of our secret sauce at Lyft is that that team that helps get us eligible to provide these services. So, again, one huge opportunity for us is going to be continuing to expand our Medicaid footprint to get Lyft assisted. So Lyft assisted is a product we launched a couple of years ago. A partner of ours, Chen Med, came to us and they were one of the risk bearing senior focused Medicare Advantage providers came to us and said, listen, you know, we really enjoy the Lyft approach, but we would like kind of a differentiate higher level of service, more elevated level of service. And, you know, per, you know, some collaboration and input from them, we we develop Lyft assisted. Lyft assisted is our door to door product. So the driver’s going to stop, park, get out of the vehicle, wait, find up to the individual’s door, knock at the door, offer an arm and elbow, you know, help carry some of the belongings and escort that individual in and out of the car, both at the pickup and at the drop off. So that’s been a tremendous new product. We’re now 35, maybe up to 40 markets across the country today. Drivers have to go through a couple additional tutorials to become eligible and then they can get Lyft assisted requests. All the metrics have been up and to the right. So everything you’d want to see in the rider driver side to know this is really working well is what we’re seeing. So we’ll continue to extend that footprint. On the services side, I’ll kind of interpret that as more of a technology question. I would point to two things. One, just the mobile app itself. Again, as I talked about before, the mobile app is not a requirement and a primary access point in this use case of Healthier can be, but it’s but it’s typically not. But we do know that when the members engage with the app, the outcomes and success and the performance and satisfaction goes way up. They get all the bells and whistles, visibility and everything that comes with the app. So we’re going to continue to find creative ways to pull that into the app and still work within the ecosystem of recognizing that this is a paid for benefit by the government and there needs to be eligibility authorization and oversight around it. So there’s some creative things we can do there where we can lighten the administrative burden, but also improve the member experience. So some very exciting stuff will come out around that. And then the other one on point two is, and I’m not going to utter the phrase AI at this point from business people. It feels a little bit embarrassing, but I’ll just say along that line, we were sitting on eight years of data from a health care perspective. When we get a request, we can oftentimes very well predict the outcome of that request in terms of the pickup process, the success of people showing up, getting there, etc. So we get member facility, daytime pickup, lat, long, venues that are mapped based on having a complex health care location to navigate. So we can predict that outcome and then we can nudge and optimize some of those levers to improve performance. So last year, we reduced no-shows 35 percent, which is not a small number. So we’ve already started doing some of this. You’ll see more and more of this. So I don’t know, throw it in the category of, you know, operational excellence. There’s a lot we can do here and a lot more to come. So I’ll leave it there to not spill too much. But there’s quite a bit we can do in terms of extending our reach around markets and services. Well, amazing. Looking forward to the growth in Medicaid, as well as the continuous product iterations of Lyft Assist, OneNative, data modeling and customizations on the mobile ad front. To wrap up our conversation, many of our audience is fellow MBA students with background in health care and technology. As they think about impacts they can make in the industry post-MBA, could you share what impacts you led in shaping Lyft’s approach to transportation and health care during your tenure as the head of the division? Yeah, I mean, I would say, you know, when I took over, I believe it was 2021-ish, thankfully, I didn’t have to change a lot, to be totally honest. I mean, I was standing on the shoulders of some incredible leaders, Megan Callahan, Gaia Renwick, others that were here that really built this team. So the train was on the tracks, right? There was a tremendous momentum in the business. And the other thing was, there’s tremendous talent. So there’s really, you know, the focus that I had, to be honest, was one, you know, just keep doing what we’re doing and continue to execute the strategy that was laid out. But two, keep the team together. We had a super talented bunch, super resilient, passionate, motivated, incredibly hardworking. So like that element of it, I really didn’t need to overthink. I will say I was a little bit concerned when I took over. It was a couple of days or weeks into my tenure, and I remember reading, you know, the great resignation. We were embarking on the great resignation, and talent was, you know, flocking all over the place and leaving their employer. And I remember thinking, oh, gosh, well, this is a bit of a challenge to navigate. So thankfully, we made it through that time. But that was really a huge focus of mine of like, listen, execute that we have the right strategy, the right approach, just keep the train on the tracks. But two, really focus on the team and make sure that we can keep this extraordinary talent. Where it give us a little bit of credit in terms of, you know, what we’ve done over the last, you know, couple of years is I think we’ve really become more and more customer obsessed. And where I would point that is, you know, coming into this space, a lot of us are frankly a little bit privileged in that. And I would say less so today, I think now like social drivers of health are rather in vogue and top of mind for most organizations. But especially in 2016, we started like, transportation insecurity, NEMT, you know, this stuff was foreign. This was pretty foreign to a lot of us to really understand, you know, the challenge here. And if you talked about access, at least, you know, in my days when I came here, and I heard about access, like my brain would immediately go to insurance. And like, that’s how I associated access. But in this context, we’re really talking about like something more basic and foundational, which is like access, like, you know, the ability to actually get there, right? So again, part of this shift of, you know, customer obsession was like getting out there and really understanding what is going on. So we have a lot of immersion days. We’ve done things, you know, where we’ve, you know, driven, we’ve shadowed partners, we ride along with patients, do all sorts of things to make sure we’re just developing more empathy in the work we do. You know, I’ll give you some examples. You go drive a really complex medical facility and, you know, do a pickup, like, you start to appreciate, you know, very precise lat-longs, not generic Google Pass, but like very precise, you know, based on our historical pickups. You start to really appreciate venue maps, right? ER door is not the same as an oncology door is not the same as, you know, the dialysis exit, right? You really start to appreciate, I’ll give you another one where I was driving and you had a rider who was going to their oncology appointment, didn’t have a phone, it didn’t speak, we didn’t speak the same language. And all of a sudden, now you really appreciate the fact that you can share communication and location information with their caregiver, who is their son in Dallas, Texas, right? So you start to, like, develop empathy around some of these things through experience. And we take that back to our world-class product and engineering team. And, you know, what do you know, a couple of months later, we’ve got that new feature and that widget to make the experience a little bit better. So, again, where I give us credit is that element of customer obsession, right? And the beauty of what we do is like, listen, this isn’t super complex medical science that we’re talking about. Like a high-income diabetic and a low-income diabetic have the same underlying disease. They need the same treatment regimen. And our focus on this is merely making sure that low-income individual has the ability to actually get to their necessary medical appointment. We don’t need to really get into the biological element of it. This is a bit more, you know, tactical in our instance. So it’s really something that we can get really close to the experience to really understand on a much deeper level to make sure we’re improving and moving the product forward. Well, thank you, Buck, so much for today’s conversation and your vivid depiction of how improving healthcare fundamentally goes back to understand human beings and their day-to-day social behaviors, whereas Lyft’s bread and butter in the mobility realm. This is definitely an area that we hope to stay tuned on this year, and we look forward to celebrating more footprints and success of Lyft. Thank you for joining me. Awesome. Thanks so much for having me. I had a great time.

Buck’s journey into healthcare was sparked by a personal interest that grew during grad school, highlighting the importance of pursuing what resonates with you.

The discovery of Lyft’s potential in healthcare came from an unexpected incident, reminding us that sometimes opportunities arise from unforeseen circumstances.

Maintaining a talented and motivated team is crucial for success; Buck emphasized the importance of keeping the team together and fostering a positive work environment.

Developing empathy for users’ experiences can lead to better product development. Buck’s team engaged directly with patients to understand their challenges, which informed improvements in Lyft’s healthcare services.

The transition from consumer-focused services to B2B in healthcare required a significant shift in approach, illustrating the need to adapt strategies based on industry demands.

Utilizing existing technology and data can enhance service delivery. Buck discussed the importance of API integrations to streamline healthcare logistics.

Understanding the link between transportation and health outcomes emphasizes the need to address social determinants of health in any healthcare strategy.

Forming strategic partnerships allows companies to enhance their offerings without diluting their core competencies, as seen in Lyft’s collaborations with organizations like Best Buy Health.

Buck highlighted the ongoing efforts to refine Lyft’s services and expand into new markets, showcasing the importance of continual growth and adaptation.

Transforming healthcare is a complex and slow process. Buck’s reflections on the industry’s pace remind us that meaningful change often takes time and persistence.

Buck Prokopich aspired to be a basketball player during his childhood, reflecting a desire for achievement and teamwork that would later influence his career in healthcare.

The passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during Buck’s graduate studies sparked his interest in the healthcare sector, shifting his career trajectory toward addressing health access issues.

Lyft was founded by John and Logan, initially focused on providing ridesharing services, but the seeds for a healthcare division were unknowingly planted.

Lyft’s healthcare journey began when a surge of rides in Salt Lake City, ordered by a transportation manager for Medicaid patients in New York, revealed a significant need for accessible transportation to medical appointments.

Buck and the Lyft team recognized that millions of Americans miss medical care due to transportation barriers, highlighting a critical gap in the healthcare system that Lyft could address.

This discovery led to the realization of a “better mousetrap” opportunity in healthcare, where Lyft could provide a modern and efficient alternative to traditional medical transportation methods.

Buck joined Lyft Healthcare and began forming strategic partnerships with organizations like Chainmed, CVS, and Kroger Health, expanding Lyft’s role in healthcare delivery.

As the healthcare industry shifted towards value-based care, Lyft Healthcare aligned its mission with this trend, emphasizing the importance of addressing social determinants of health.

Buck discussed how Lyft Healthcare’s services have become crucial in the post-COVID era, particularly in combating social isolation and ensuring access to healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Lyft Healthcare’s mission to improve health through transportation aligns closely with Lyft’s overarching goal of enhancing lives through accessible transportation, creating a cohesive strategy for growth and impact in the healthcare sector.

Lyft recognized an opportunity to expand its transportation services into the healthcare sector, marking a strategic pivot to leverage its existing technology for a new use case.

The integration of healthcare logistics with Lyft’s existing platform faced obstacles, particularly the reliance on outdated communication methods like burner phones, indicating a need for a more scalable solution.

Lyft identified that the healthcare use case involved multiple stakeholders (requester, rider, payer), unlike its consumer model, requiring a rethinking of workflows and communication strategies.

The company realized that adapting its consumer app to a B2B platform was essential, necessitating a significant re-architecture of its technology to accommodate the complexities of healthcare logistics.

Lyft utilized its existing technology stack and driver network as a foundation, acknowledging that the success of the healthcare initiative relied on the capabilities built for its consumer business.

The transition to healthcare demanded additional compliance measures and background checks for drivers, highlighting the need for tailored solutions within the existing framework.

Lyft acknowledged the unique challenges of entering the healthcare market, emphasizing that the shift to B2B required a deep understanding of complex buying decisions and building trusting relationships.

To navigate the healthcare landscape effectively, Lyft focused on assembling a team with extensive experience in the healthcare sector, aiming to tailor their approach to meet the industry’s specific needs.

The company adapted its market strategy to accommodate the longer sales cycles and deeper integrations required in healthcare, moving away from quick consumer transactions.

Through strategic investments and a clear focus on the healthcare sector, Lyft has positioned itself as a leader in healthcare logistics, demonstrating the importance of adaptability and understanding market complexities.

Lyft Healthcare began with a strategic focus on rapidly integrating into various healthcare workflows, aiming to establish themselves as a dominant player in the market.

Recognizing the attractiveness of the healthcare sector, Lyft aimed to partner with a wide array of stakeholders, from hospitals to digital health platforms, to ensure comprehensive service coverage.

As Lyft’s presence grew, their strategy shifted from a broad integration approach to a more selective focus on partnerships that deliver tangible patient and business outcomes.

Lyft identified a gap in the market for effective healthcare solutions, leading them to prioritize partnerships that could enhance their service offerings without diluting their core competencies.

Partnerships with companies like Best Buy Health and Instacart Health were formed to leverage their strengths, such as Best Buy’s focus on senior markets and Instacart’s capabilities in food delivery, to improve patient care.

Lyft recognized the importance of medically tailored meals and comprehensive nutrition programs, steering clear of superficial food delivery services to ensure meaningful health impacts.

By utilizing modern technology and APIs, Lyft enabled seamless integration of their services into partners’ workflows, enhancing accessibility and efficiency in healthcare delivery.

Lyft adopted a philosophy of collaboration, emphasizing that working together with other organizations leads to better patient outcomes and a more effective healthcare ecosystem.

Emphasizing the need for discipline and patience in healthcare, Lyft acknowledged that rapid growth and viral solutions are often unrealistic in this sector, advocating for a methodical approach.

Early experiences, such as meetings with industry pioneers like Nancy Brown, motivated Lyft’s commitment to innovation and excellence in healthcare, shaping their approach to building impactful partnerships.

The speaker expresses enthusiasm about the potential changes brought by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the expansion of Medicaid, highlighting a belief in the transformative power of policy reforms.

A colleague’s skepticism about immediate change serves as a wake-up call, emphasizing the slow and complex nature of the healthcare industry, which remains stuck on long-standing issues like interoperability and cost transparency.

The speaker reflects on the stagnation in consumer experiences across industries, including healthcare, suggesting that despite technological advancements, fundamental changes in patient engagement are still lacking.

The speaker advocates for a focused approach to partnerships, recognizing the importance of collaborating with other organizations to enhance patient impact rather than trying to do everything alone.

The speaker contrasts two models of care: fee-for-service, which focuses on maximizing reimbursement and operational efficiency, and value-based care, which emphasizes patient outcomes and overall health management.

The discussion highlights how transportation affects healthcare access, with fee-for-service providers seeing it as a tactical tool, while value-based care providers view it as essential for improving patient adherence and satisfaction.

The speaker notes that spending per patient in value-based care significantly exceeds that in fee-for-service, as the former associates transportation with better health outcomes and reduced hospital visits.

Acknowledging that the transition to value-based care is slow, the speaker remains optimistic about the ongoing shift and its potential benefits for patient care.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of identifying patients who struggle with transportation barriers, advocating for proactive measures to ensure they receive necessary healthcare services.

The speaker recognizes the impact of social isolation and loneliness exacerbated by the pandemic, indicating that while current efforts are underway, there is much more work to be done to address these issues effectively.

The CDC reports that 25% of seniors are socially isolated, leading to significant health risks, including a 50% increase in dementia and a 25% increase in heart disease and stroke.

Research reveals that 73% of socially isolated seniors are transportation insecure, highlighting the critical need for accessible transport to combat social isolation.

A study with AARP and other partners provided Medicare Advantage members with chronic diseases access to Lyft for three months, demonstrating the potential impact of improved transportation on seniors’ health and happiness.

Results from the study showed that 90% of participants wanted to continue using Lyft, with a 35% increase in physical activity and over 90% reporting enhanced happiness and independence.

Lyft promotes social interaction by facilitating real-world connections, contrasting with the isolating nature of digital engagement, reinforcing the belief that technology can bring people together.

Lyft identifies Medicaid as a significant market for medical transportation, noting that it has been a benefit since the 1960s, with recent legislation formalizing its importance.

From being available in zero states in 2016-2018, Lyft has expanded its Medicaid services to 23 states plus D.C., covering 60-65% of Medicaid members, indicating substantial progress in addressing transportation needs.

Responding to requests from healthcare partners, Lyft launched Lyft Assisted, a door-to-door service where drivers assist seniors with mobility challenges, enhancing the overall service experience.

Metrics related to rider and driver satisfaction for Lyft Assisted have shown consistent improvement, validating the effectiveness of the service and the company’s commitment to meeting user needs.

Lyft plans to enhance its mobile app to improve user engagement and satisfaction, recognizing that a well-designed app can significantly impact health outcomes and service access for seniors.

Stepped into a leadership role at Lyft during a time of significant momentum, inheriting a strong team and established strategies from previous leaders like Megan Callahan and Gaia Renwick.

Faced challenges of retaining talent amid the Great Resignation, prioritizing team cohesion and motivation to maintain the extraordinary talent pool.

Concentrated efforts on executing existing strategies while fostering a collaborative and resilient team environment to keep operations stable.

Recognized the importance of understanding customer needs, particularly in transportation insecurity and access to healthcare, which was previously overlooked.

Implemented “immersion days” where team members shadowed patients and partners, gaining firsthand knowledge of the complexities in healthcare transportation.

Understood the need for precise location mapping in healthcare settings, learning that not all medical facility entrances are the same, which directly impacts patient pickups.

Encountered situations where patients faced language barriers and lacked phones, leading to the realization of the importance of sharing location information with caregivers for better support.

Translated on-the-ground experiences and insights back to the product and engineering teams, resulting in new features that enhanced user experience.

Emphasized that regardless of income, patients with the same medical conditions require equal access to treatment, focusing on the logistical aspects of getting low-income patients to appointments.

Committed to ongoing iterations of services and products, ensuring that Lyft’s approach to healthcare transportation evolves to meet the needs of diverse populations effectively.

The conversation begins with the acknowledgment that improving healthcare hinges on a deep understanding of human beings and their everyday social behaviors, setting the stage for a holistic approach to health.

Lyft’s core business revolves around mobility, highlighting the importance of transportation in facilitating access to healthcare and other essential services.

The discussion emphasizes how transportation and healthcare are intertwined, suggesting that improving one can lead to enhancements in the other.

The speaker expresses a strong desire to stay engaged with developments in healthcare and mobility, indicating a proactive approach to learning and adapting.

There’s a forward-looking attitude toward celebrating achievements in the Lyft community, showcasing a belief in recognizing and rewarding progress.

The exchange reflects a collaborative mindset, where sharing insights and experiences can lead to collective advancements in both healthcare and mobility sectors.

The gratitude expressed for the conversation highlights the importance of open dialogue in fostering understanding and innovation.

The conversation hints at a vision for a future where improved healthcare access and mobility work hand-in-hand, benefiting society as a whole.

The underlying belief that both healthcare and mobility have significant impacts on community well-being is evident, reinforcing the need for integrated solutions.

The closing remarks convey a sense of enjoyment in the dialogue, suggesting that the journey towards improvement is just as important as the outcomes.

Buck Prokopich initially dreamed of becoming a basketball player when he was a child and still enjoys the idea of playing basketball.

He developed an interest in healthcare during grad school, particularly influenced by the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Buck enjoys engaging in discussions about the intersection of big tech and healthcare, a topic that is trending on campuses and within the industry.

He recalls a significant moment in 2016 when Lyft discovered a unique market fit in healthcare after noticing unusual ride requests linked to Medicaid and Medicare patients.

Buck emphasizes the importance of addressing social determinants of health, particularly the impact of transportation on access to medical care.

He believes that many people historically underestimated the variety of smaller industries within healthcare that could significantly impact patient care.

Buck’s role at Lyft Healthcare involves exploring innovative partnerships with other companies to enhance healthcare access.

He expresses a strong commitment to ensuring that everyone who needs a ride for medical appointments can access it, regardless of their circumstances.

Buck is part of a team that navigates the complexities of integrating transportation solutions within the healthcare system.

He is excited about the potential of Lyft Healthcare to address issues like social isolation and loneliness, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

-The guest emphasizes the importance of transitioning from a consumer-focused model to a B2B approach, specifically in the healthcare sector, which presents unique challenges.

They highlight the complexity of healthcare logistics, noting that different stakeholders (requesters, riders, payers) are involved, each with distinct needs and incentives.

The guest mentions the necessity of customizing technology for healthcare, indicating that off-the-shelf rideshare solutions are insufficient for this industry.

They reflect on the significant investment and resources that Lyft has dedicated to maintaining its leadership in healthcare logistics.

The guest acknowledges the initial challenges of moving away from outdated communication methods, such as burner phones, to more scalable solutions.

They discuss the importance of building trust and relationships in B2B healthcare contracts, which can involve significant financial commitments.

The guest notes the critical role of compliance and background checks for drivers in healthcare, emphasizing the need for a specialized driver network.

They describe the shift to a B2B platform as a major pivot for Lyft, requiring a different go-to-market strategy than the consumer side.

The guest appreciates the foundational technology and marketplace established by Lyft, which has supported the expansion into healthcare logistics.

They recognize the challenges faced by other tech companies attempting to enter the healthcare space, highlighting that success requires a deep understanding of the industry.

The guest emphasizes the importance of partnerships in the healthcare space, particularly with unconventional entrants like Instacart Health and Best Buy Health.

They have witnessed a significant evolution in their strategy since 2016, moving from a land grab approach to a more selective and impact-focused strategy.

The guest believes that healthcare is not lacking in solutions but is short on effective ones that truly make a difference.

They highlight the necessity of having a dedicated focus on specific markets and not just extending existing products to new use cases.

The guest mentions their commitment to integrating into existing healthcare workflows using modern technology and APIs, rather than building everything in-house.

They stress the importance of collaboration in healthcare, advocating for a “go together” approach rather than a fast-paced, individualistic one.

The guest recalls an early career experience meeting a trailblazer in the healthcare industry, which left a lasting impression on them.

They express a clear understanding of the complexities and slower pace of change within the healthcare sector compared to consumer-focused industries.

The guest is particularly interested in the “food is medicine” movement, emphasizing the need for medically tailored meals and the role of dieticians and nutritionists.

They acknowledge the challenges of making a significant impact in healthcare, stressing the importance of maintaining focus and discipline in partnerships.

The guest is deeply passionate about the impact of healthcare policy changes, particularly the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its implications for Medicaid and individual mandates.

They express a humorous yet critical perspective on the slow pace of change within the healthcare industry, comparing it to grocery stores and gas stations in terms of innovation.

The guest emphasizes the importance of collaboration and strategic partnerships in enhancing patient care and addressing healthcare challenges.

They discuss the shift from fee-for-service to value-based care, highlighting the need for a more strategic approach to transportation in healthcare.

The guest points out the significant difference in spending per patient between fee-for-service and value-based care models.

They advocate for improving access to transportation for underserved populations, emphasizing the connection between transportation and health outcomes.

The guest acknowledges the ongoing challenges posed by social isolation and loneliness, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.

They believe that Lyft Healthcare is just beginning to scratch the surface in addressing social isolation and improving patient engagement.

The guest’s insights reflect a forward-thinking mindset, focusing on the long-term evolution of healthcare delivery rather than immediate results.

They possess a keen awareness of the complexities of the healthcare system and the need for innovative solutions to enhance patient experiences.

The guest is passionate about addressing social isolation among seniors and believes transportation plays a crucial role in combating this issue.

They highlight the contrast between technology that often keeps people apart and Lyft’s mission to promote social engagement through shared rides.

The guest enjoys hearing about people’s experiences when they use Lyft, emphasizing the social interactions that arise from such rides.

They are optimistic about Lyft’s future initiatives aimed at improving healthcare equity and expanding services for those with transportation insecurities.

The guest has a collaborative approach, working closely with state agencies to establish Lyft as a provider of Medical Transportation services.

They are involved in the development of Lyft Assisted, which provides a higher level of service by offering door-to-door assistance for seniors.

The guest emphasizes the importance of user engagement with the Lyft app in improving outcomes and satisfaction for riders.

They are focused on expanding Lyft’s Medicaid footprint and increasing access to transportation for medical appointments.

The guest is motivated by the positive feedback from users who report increased happiness and independence due to Lyft’s services.

They are committed to continuously improving Lyft’s offerings and exploring innovative solutions to enhance the user experience in healthcare transportation.

The guest emphasizes the importance of empathy in understanding the challenges faced by individuals using healthcare transportation services.

They have implemented “immersion days,” where team members shadow patients and partners to gain firsthand experience of the challenges in the healthcare transportation process.

The guest acknowledges the shift in focus towards social determinants of health, particularly in relation to transportation insecurity, which was not widely recognized in the industry until recently.

They share a personal anecdote about driving a rider to an oncology appointment who didn’t have a phone and spoke a different language, highlighting the need for effective communication and support for caregivers.

The guest has a strong belief in maintaining team cohesion and talent retention, especially during challenging times like the “great resignation.”

They advocate for precise navigation and mapping in healthcare transportation, recognizing that different medical facilities have specific entry and exit points.

The guest expresses a commitment to customer obsession, prioritizing the needs and experiences of individuals using their services.

They believe that the underlying medical conditions of patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds are the same, but access to care is where disparities exist.

The guest has a passion for continuous improvement and innovation in their product offerings, driven by insights gained from real-world experiences.

They acknowledge the importance of operational excellence in enhancing member experience and reducing no-show rates for medical appointments.

The guest emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior in improving healthcare.

They express enthusiasm for the ongoing developments in the mobility sector, particularly related to Lyft.

The guest appreciates the opportunity to engage in the conversation, indicating a positive attitude towards discussions about their field.

They show a willingness to stay informed and involved in future advancements within their industry.

The guest seems to value collaboration and shared success, as highlighted by their anticipation of celebrating Lyft’s achievements.

They convey a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment from participating in the podcast.

The guest likely has a strong interest in the intersection of technology and social behavior, especially in relation to healthcare.

They demonstrate an openness to exploring new ideas and perspectives within their professional realm.

Lyft Inc. is founded by John and Logan, initially focused on providing ridesharing services without a specific focus on healthcare.

A significant discovery occurs when Lyft notices a surge in ride requests in Salt Lake City, which are being dispatched from New York City by a transportation manager for a health plan serving Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members.

This incident reveals a new market opportunity where patients are using Lyft rides to attend medical appointments, highlighting a gap in transportation access for healthcare.

The concept of Lyft Healthcare emerges as an innovative solution to address transportation barriers in healthcare, recognizing that millions of Americans miss necessary medical care due to lack of transportation.

Lyft Healthcare begins to formalize its mission: to improve health by ensuring everyone who needs a ride gets a ride, aligning closely with Lyft’s broader mission of improving lives through transportation.

Buck Prokopich joins Lyft Healthcare, bringing his expertise to help develop and grow the healthcare division.

Lyft Healthcare forges partnerships with major health organizations like Chainmed, CVS, and Kroger Health, expanding its reach and effectiveness in the healthcare sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the importance of transportation in healthcare, particularly in addressing issues like social isolation and loneliness.

Lyft Healthcare continues to explore innovative partnerships, including collaborations with Best Buy Health, and expands its services within the Medicaid program across the U.S.

As the healthcare industry shifts towards value-based care, Lyft Healthcare aligns its services to further support this transition, addressing social determinants of health through improved access to transportation.

Lyft started as a transportation-focused company in North America, maintaining discipline in its core business while exploring new segments and use cases.

A seemingly random incident revealed a significant opportunity for Lyft in healthcare logistics, prompting the company to consider this new use case.

The first hurdle was transitioning users from burner phones to a scalable technology solution, highlighting the need for a more sustainable approach to healthcare logistics.

Unlike their consumer app, which had a single user persona, healthcare logistics involved multiple stakeholders (requester, rider, payer), necessitating a complex orchestration of workflows.

Lyft had to significantly re-architect its technology to cater to the healthcare sector, shifting from a consumer-focused app to a B2B platform accessible via web portals and APIs.

Despite the challenges, Lyft capitalized on its existing technology stack and driver network, which provided a solid foundation for entering the healthcare market.

The sequence of moving from consumer services to healthcare was essential, as the existing rideshare framework allowed for a smoother transition into a complex industry.

The healthcare sector required additional compliance measures and background checks for drivers, necessitating further customization beyond the off-the-shelf rideshare product.

By 2016, Lyft made a significant pivot towards a B2B model, focusing on the healthcare market, which involved complex buying decisions and long-term relationships with clients.

To effectively navigate the healthcare landscape, Lyft built a team with deep experience in healthcare, emphasizing the importance of understanding the unique challenges of this sector.

Lyft Healthcare began its journey with a focus on establishing a strong presence in the healthcare market, leveraging a two to three-year head start over competitors to integrate into various healthcare workflows.

The initial strategy was to rapidly partner with a wide array of healthcare stakeholders, including providers, hospitals, and digital health platforms, to make Lyft the default transportation solution.

Over time, Lyft expanded its partnerships to include unconventional players like Instacart Health and Best Buy Health, aiming to enhance its services and create a more comprehensive healthcare solution.

As Lyft Healthcare grew, the strategy evolved from aggressive marketing and branding to a more selective approach focused on actual patient impact and business outcomes.

Lyft recognized the need to concentrate on its strengths while partnering with others for services outside its core capabilities, such as senior-focused solutions from Best Buy and medically tailored meals from Instacart.

Lyft leveraged modern technology and APIs to integrate its ride services into other healthcare platforms, allowing for seamless access to transportation within existing workflows.

The company adopted a collaborative mindset, believing that partnerships are essential to achieve a greater impact on patient care and health outcomes.

The team acknowledged that the healthcare sector operates differently than consumer markets, emphasizing that rapid solutions often do not translate well into the healthcare space.

The founder reflected on early experiences meeting industry leaders, which provided valuable insights into the complexities and nuances of the healthcare environment.

Throughout its evolution, Lyft Healthcare has remained committed to driving meaningful outcomes for patients, focusing on disciplined growth and effective collaboration in the healthcare landscape.

The speaker expresses excitement about the potential changes brought by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid expansion, and the launch of health exchanges, indicating a belief in transformative possibilities within the healthcare industry.

A colleague’s dismissive reaction serves as a reality check, highlighting the slow pace of change in the complex healthcare landscape, where discussions from years ago still resonate today.

The speaker reflects on how certain industries, including healthcare, have not significantly evolved in terms of the consumer experience, likening it to grocery stores and gas stations.

Emphasizing the importance of partnerships, the speaker advocates for focusing on strengths while collaborating with other organizations to enhance patient impact in healthcare.

The conversation shifts to Lyft Healthcare’s alignment with value-based care, contrasting it with traditional fee-for-service models that prioritize maximizing reimbursement over patient outcomes.

The speaker outlines two different approaches to transportation in healthcare: the tactical, reimbursement-focused perspective of fee-for-service providers versus the strategic, patient-centered approach of value-based care organizations.

The speaker notes that organizations in the value-based care bucket view transportation as a means to improve care adherence, member satisfaction, and overall cost management, emphasizing the importance of timely access to care.

The ongoing shift from fee-for-service to value-based care is acknowledged as a gradual process, with the speaker expressing optimism about its potential to improve healthcare delivery.

The discussion highlights the necessity of identifying patients who lack access to transportation, advocating for targeted support to ensure they receive essential healthcare services.

Finally, the speaker emphasizes Lyft Healthcare’s commitment to addressing social isolation and loneliness, particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19, while acknowledging that their efforts are just beginning to scratch the surface of this critical issue.

The CDC reports that a quarter of seniors are socially isolated, leading to significant health risks such as a 50% increase in dementia and a 25% increase in heart disease and stroke.

A survey of 20,000 Medicare Advantage members reveals that those who are socially isolated have a 73% increase in transportation insecurity, highlighting the critical link between access to transportation and social engagement.

Lyft collaborates with AARP, United Health, and Kern Medical to study the impact of providing Lyft rides to Medicare Advantage members with chronic diseases, finding that 90% wanted to continue using the service after three months.

The study shows a 35% increase in physical activity and over 90% of participants reporting improvements in happiness, independence, and overall quality of life due to increased mobility.

The discussion emphasizes that Lyft aims to counteract technology’s tendency to isolate individuals by fostering social connections through shared rides and community engagement.

Lyft begins its journey in 2016 with zero states in the Medicaid transportation sector, which is the largest segment of emergency medical transportation, and works to become an eligible provider.

By today, Lyft has expanded its services to 23 states plus D.C., covering 60-65% of all Medicaid members and plans to continue this growth.

In response to a request from Chen Med, Lyft launches Lyft Assisted, a door-to-door service providing additional support for seniors, including assistance with getting in and out of vehicles.

Lyft Assisted is now available in 35-40 markets across the country, with positive metrics indicating success in rider and driver satisfaction.

Lyft aims to improve its mobile app to increase user engagement, which correlates with better outcomes and satisfaction, while ensuring compliance with government regulations for transportation benefits.

The speaker took over leadership at Lyft’s transportation and healthcare division, inheriting a strong team and established momentum from previous leaders, including Megan Callahan and Gaia Renwick.

The initial focus was on maintaining the existing strategy and ensuring team unity, especially during the challenging period of the Great Resignation when talent retention was a concern.

Recognizing a need for a deeper understanding of customer experiences, the team shifted towards becoming more customer-focused, particularly in the context of transportation insecurity and access to healthcare.

The team engaged in various immersion activities, including shadowing partners and riding along with patients, to gain firsthand insights into the challenges faced by individuals accessing healthcare.

Through direct experiences, the team learned the importance of precise navigation details for medical facilities, realizing that not all entry points are the same and that specific location data is crucial for effective pickups.

An experience with a non-English speaking rider highlighted the need for better communication tools, leading to the development of features that allow sharing of ride information with caregivers.

Leveraging eight years of healthcare data, the team began predicting outcomes for transportation requests, optimizing processes to reduce no-shows by 35%.

The focus on operational excellence led to innovative solutions aimed at improving member experiences and extending market reach.

The ongoing development of Lyft’s healthcare-related products, such as Lyft Assist and OneNative, reflects a commitment to adapting and improving services based on customer feedback and data insights.

Ultimately, the efforts aim to ensure that low-income individuals have the same access to necessary medical appointments as their higher-income counterparts, emphasizing the tactical nature of the transportation solutions provided.

The conversation begins with a focus on the importance of understanding human beings and their social behaviors in improving healthcare.

The host expresses gratitude to Buck for his insights, highlighting the connection between healthcare and human behavior.

Buck shares his perspective on mobility, emphasizing Lyft’s role in this sector as a key player.

The discussion hints at Lyft’s ongoing efforts and innovations in the mobility space, indicating a commitment to progress.

The host expresses excitement about future developments in Lyft’s initiatives throughout the year.

There is a mutual acknowledgment of the potential for success and growth in Lyft’s endeavors.

The conversation wraps up with a positive tone, showcasing the rapport between the host and Buck.

Buck thanks the host, indicating a fulfilling and enjoyable discussion.

The host concludes the episode, leaving listeners with a sense of anticipation for what’s to come from Lyft.

The overall dialogue reinforces the interconnectedness of healthcare and mobility, suggesting a holistic approach to future challenges.