United Way of Southeastern Idaho – Ride United

United Way of Southeastern Idaho’s Ride United, funded with state and private funds through United Way, offers no-cost transportation above and beyond Medicaid NEMT for health-related activities for patients of the local free clinic, crisis and recovery centers, and mental health facilities. By providing no-cost transportation, nonprofits can help their clients to better address the social determinants of health related to health care and help them to achieve long-term, sustainable health improvements. Ride United also helps community members access other essential services such as dental appointments, housing support, meetings at local schools and more.

What makes this innovative?

Medicaid NEMT has strict policies on who can and cannot access rides and under what circumstances, and it does not cover all types of rides that Medicaid recipients need. Ride United’s holistic approach, designed by a team of community-based professionals in response to an assessment of local social determinants of health, found that asset-limited, income constrained and employed (ALICE) community residents experience barriers to good health. One-third of those surveyed experience housing and food insecurity, and one-quarter experience unmet needs associated with utilities and transportation. The program has quickly grown to several hundred rides per month provided to this target population, including rides to medical care for a caregiver who was suffering congestive heart failure and rides provided to another community member with disabilities who was able to access permanent, supportive housing and avoid homelessness.

Lessons Learned and Replication Advice:

› Consider a United Way partnership to access technical support for innovative transportation solutions.

› Develop a supplementary program for your state’s Medicaid NEMT, ensuring that all participating agencies understand and receive guidance on Medicaid NEMT rules.

› Seek partners who are willing to troubleshoot issues and who have strong communication skills to work with transportation providers and riders when schedules change.

› Allow for staff time to onboard new agencies, manage monthly billing, support troubleshooting, develop and maintain relevant policies, and provide ongoing connections to partnering organizations.