Uber Health teams with insurers on maternal health in Georgia

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Uber Health, a healthcare-focused subsidiary of the ride-sharing platform, is collaborating with the Georgia Primary Care Association and Amerigroup Georgia, a managed care plan and subsidiary of Elevance Health, in an effort to strengthen maternal health in the state.

Through the partnership, the three entities will enable federally qualified health centers in Georgia to help expectant mothers receive access to care, as well as additional support via delivery, such as help with meals, goods and groceries.

At the end of 2022, Amerigroup Georgia and Uber Health launched the Maternal Health Access Research Project, a pilot program that helps expectant and postpartum mothers in the Atlanta and Savannah metro areas access transportation to and from care appointments and purchase food or other necessary goods.

As part of that pilot project, the Georgia Primary Care Association and Amerigroup Georgia have created a program that will work with existing plan designs and initiatives focused on social drivers of health and health equity to identify high-risk members who need mobility assistance and easy access to deliveries.

Through the program, Amerigroup Georgia and the GPCA can use Uber Eats vouchers to provide access to healthy meal and grocery deliveries, and coordinators can use the Uber Health platform to request transportation for appointments.

The pilot program will have an initial enrollment of 800 mothers, with the opportunity to scale, according to Uber.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

The infant and maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are among the highest in developed countries. Black women are more than three times more likely to die from pregnancy complications than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A National Library of Medicine analysis found that in Georgia, maternal mortality rates are some of the highest in the nation, with 46.2 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births for all women (nearly twice the national average) and 66.6 deaths per 100,000 live births for African American women. Social drivers of health, such as transportation and food security, have a direct impact on that mortality rate.

Without access to transportation, expectant mothers often struggle with appointment adherence, which results in adverse health outcomes for mothers and babies, said Uber Health.

Uber Health and Elevance Health have committed to sharing the results from this pilot with the White House as part of its Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, with an eye toward shaping future maternal health-access programs.

THE LARGER TREND

Understanding the disparities faced by various racial and ethnic groups is key to addressing preterm births and low birth rates, which should spur action from payers, providers and lawmakers, a 2023 Health Affairs study found.

Specifically, the authors said that state and local lawmakers wield considerable influence in reducing disparities in maternal health outcomes, since many originate from historically inequitable local policies.

One possible means of addressing the issue would be the development of surveys with disaggregated race and ethnicity data that's specific to a given community, though authors cautioned that it's a fine line between reducing health inequities and intensifying them through racial targeting.

Maternal care deserts are a known and increasing problem. Between 2020 and 2022 there's been a 5% increase in counties in the United States that have less maternity access, according to a March of Dimes report. There's a 2% increase in counties that are considered maternity care deserts.
 

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.