Why Leaders Should View Transportation As A Healthcare Strategy

Forbes

21-07-2025

Miguel McInnis, President/CEO of Coordinated Transportation Solutions (CTS), a non-profit Non-Emergency Medical Transportation provider.
From a public health perspective, transportation isn't top of mind when discussing care strategies for good health outcomes—but it should be. When patients miss regular doctor appointments, it can lead to worse health outcomes and higher healthcare costs—particularly for those who depend on Medicare or Medicaid to cover their healthcare expenses.
Whether you're a health plan executive, benefits administrator or transportation provider, rethinking transportation can go a long way toward strategically improving compliance, return on investment and, most importantly, the overall public health of a community.
The Access Imperative: The Long-Term Cost Of Missed Appointments
When patients miss their appointments because they have no way of getting to them, this can have devastating effects on their health over time. Let's imagine a scenario with a patient we'll call Mrs. Jones. If Mrs. Jones isn't getting to her regular appointments to check her HbA1C levels, the consequences could be an exacerbation of her diabetes that will necessitate more serious care. This means Mrs. Jones will be more likely to utilize the emergency room. While Mrs. Jones will get the care she needs at that moment, it will likely be exponentially more (e.g., a co-pay of $1,000 compared to, say, a $30 primary care appointment). Plus, her situation could lead to repeated readmissions.
How Leaders Can Help Improve Access
Many people are unaware of what the appropriate use of the emergency room (ER) is—and that's understandable. Consumers aren't being told when going to the emergency room is actually inappropriate, so they may think that something like a bad cough warrants a visit to the ER. To help tackle this challenge, there needs to be a concerted effort to educate people on emergency room utilization.
Businesses can help. Companies can create employee education to help workers learn how to use their benefits effectively. Likewise, health plans can incorporate a telehealth component into their coverage so when patients can't make it to an appointment in person, they can still get help from their doctor. Also, healthcare professionals can actively dissuade the use of the emergency room as a form of primary care. Together, employers, insurers and physicians can invest in solutions that encourage routine care and decrease no-shows, which can, in turn, reduce the need for high-cost interventions while supporting value-based care.
Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a service provided to Medicaid beneficiaries, and this can help ensure that patients are getting the care they need. Unfortunately, this area of compliance can be a minefield. Transportation can, sadly, be rife with fraud, waste and abuse.
One option to mitigate this is to use third-party brokers to handle the management of transportation logistics, scheduling and compliance reporting. These are not necessarily health plan providers' area of expertise, so having support available can help them meet regulatory requirements while lifting administrative burden, along with the risk of fraud, from their business operations.
To ensure that the patients who need care most are able to access it, health plans can also partner with NEMT organizations to address the transportation-related social determinants of health with those transportation providers that specialize in underserved communities. Finally, supporting philanthropic organizations dedicated to reducing inequity and improving community metrics can help reduce missed appointments, boost disease control and lead to measurable population health benefits by funding project initiatives that incorporate transportation as part of an access to care solution.
Why Leaders Should Act Now
Reductions in public funding for healthcare could put already marginalized patients at risk of getting even less access to care than they currently have. However, this provides an opportunity for private businesses to lead in building access-driven care models. Filling this gap can lead to reduced emergency room visits and inpatient costs, new value-based care incentives, improved member satisfaction and plan retention and increased employee wellness and productivity.
Transportation should not be treated as an afterthought. I believe businesses that make a strategic investment in this area will be ahead of the curve in terms of managing costs, making customers satisfied, increasing the wellness of their workforce and contributing to health equity.
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