VA partners with Uber to drive veterans to medical appointments, but travel in rural areas remains a problem

John Polk, an Army veteran and volunteer with Disabled American Veterans, picks up veteran William Bash of Oak Creek, Wis., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, to drive him to his medical appointment at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center . (John Polk)

WASHINGTON — Army veteran John Polk has been a volunteer driver for 10 years with Disabled American Veterans, taking Wisconsin veterans to their doctor appointments at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center and other health care facilities managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“If the DAV didn’t pick up these veterans, they would have a hard time getting to the doctor,” he said.

Without the help of Polk, 77, and other volunteer drivers, veterans who lack transportation — a particular problem in rural areas — would be stranded and unable to make their appointments with the GO.

“We hear a lot from rural veterans that ‘no one wants to help us,’” said Patty Davis, DAV transportation program manager and transportation services coordinator at the Milwaukee VA. “I simply don’t have the drivers needed to fill all the areas where services need to be provided.”

Transportation problems are responsible for 1.8 million missed medical appointments each year, costing the agency about $4.4 billion annually.

In response, the VA began rolling out VA-Uber Health Connect nationwide in 2024, leveraging the popular ride-sharing service to fill transportation gaps for veterans. The rollout follows a two-year pilot program that tested and adapted the rideshare service for veterans’ medical appointments at VA facilities in several states.

Veterans do not use the Uber app to access rides. Instead, they contact a VA scheduler after enrolling in the program.

But the collaboration has hit a dead end for many veterans living in rural and hard-to-reach communities where ride-sharing services are rare or non-existent.

About 25% of veterans — or more than 4 million — live in rural or very rural areas, according to the VA.

Polk volunteers once or twice a month to travel to small communities in Washington and Waukesha counties in western Wisconsin, where Uber, taxis and public bus service are rare or unavailable.

“Adding the Uber Health program has no impact on these rural communities,” said Polk, a retired major who served in the Army from 1967 to 1993, with deployments to Vietnam.

Polk and other volunteers sometimes provide the only transportation for disabled veterans in rural communities.

There is a divide between urban and rural areas when it comes to the availability of ride-sharing services, according to the Pew Research Center. Uber drivers are paid based on the number of trips and rely on frequent service calls. Ride-sharing in rural areas is slowed by low demand and spotty internet access for users.

“Uber doesn’t have a big presence in places like Antelope Valley, where some of the biggest transportation challenges exist for our veterans,” said William Regen Wilson, a public affairs consultant with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. of Los Angeles County.

Antelope Valley is an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles, a community on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Wilson said there are significant problems getting people to their VA appointments.

“There is no mandate from Congress, and no funds set aside to address transportation issues,” he said.

Although the Rural Veterans Care Transportation Act was introduced in early 2024 to allow more veterans service organizations in very rural areas to benefit from transportation grants, the legislation did not not yet been debated in a congressional committee. The goal of the legislation is to help give rural veterans without vehicles options for getting to their VA appointments.

Jon Retzer, deputy national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans, said legislation for veterans that requires new or additional funding has been slow to advance in Congress this year. The DAV has supplemented VA transportation services since 1989 and has 3,000 trained volunteers nationwide who help drive veterans to their appointments.

Navy veteran Tom Bierbach, 75, a volunteer driver with Disabled American Veterans in Wisconsin, takes another veteran to a medical appointment at a clinic run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Disabled American Veterans.)

In 2023, they transported more than 245,000 veterans to their VA appointments.

The organization also donates vans to the VA for its own transportation services. In 2024, the organization donated 75 new vehicles to VA medical facilities at a cost of $3 million.

An estimated 5 million veterans, many of them aging, have transportation challenges accessing VA medical care, according to Indra Sandal, a physician and chief innovation officer at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics in Tampa. in Florida.

Sandal said some VA hospitals participating in the VA-Uber program prioritize the agency’s own van service to pick up veterans in remote areas, instead of simply fulfilling requests on a first-come, first basis. served.

These hospitals then leverage VA-Uber Health Connect to help veterans in urban communities closer to VA medical facilities.

Sandal developed the VA-Uber collaboration for a pilot program that ran from April 2022 to April 2024. The Uber program underwent a test drive to see how well it met the demand to bring veterans to scheduled medical visits.

VA-Uber Health Connect initially operated in 10 medical centers across four states: Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. The main goals of the partnership with Uber are to reduce no-shows and missed appointments as well as improve the health care transportation experience, said Terrence Hayes, VA press secretary.

Veterans do not have to pay any fees when using the rideshare service and do not need to submit a travel reimbursement request.

The program expanded to 101 medical facilities in 2024, serving more than 50,000 veterans. Plans are underway to make rideshare service available at every VA medical center.

From May to October 2024, the Veterans Health Administration offered 274,000 rideshare trips to eligible veterans, according to the VA. Usage continues to grow.

The VA also renewed its partnership with Lyft, a ride-sharing service it has used during the coronavirus pandemic. The VA pays market rates for ride-sharing services.

When a veteran applies to the local VA transportation office for a ride, the VA evaluates the veteran’s eligibility and ensures that a VA-authorized appointment is in place. To access the rides, veterans must have a disability rating of 30 percent or higher and be receiving treatment for service-related injuries.

The transportation office plans and coordinates trips. The office sends veterans messages about ride status.

“I live out here in the desert,” said Army veteran Steve Johnson, 66, of Arizona, who suffers from dizziness following a head injury suffered during military training at Fort Leonard Wood, Wash. Missouri. “I heard about this new Uber Service with the VA. But Uber doesn’t travel here. There’s no way a bus will even come near me.

Johnson, a medically discharged soldier after serving from 1976 to 1977, lives near Vail, about an hour’s drive from Tucson. He said he usually goes to his appointments himself at the Tucson VA Medical Center. He then submits paper travel reimbursement requests.

But earlier this year, Johnson said he experienced dizziness and felt weak when his legs gave out while he walked in front of his house. He could not access his vehicle or get to his VA appointment.

“The VA told me to call an ambulance,” he said.

Johnson was able to reach a friend to drive him to the VA for treatment. He said it would help if he had transportation assistance, but he doesn’t expect to see on-demand transportation anytime soon in this isolated desert community.

“This is where I can afford to live on my budget, and I’m not about to move,” Johnson said. “Where I live seems like a good choice. It’s quiet, there are fewer problems and there’s plenty of open space.