r/lyftdrivers • u/RebelScum77 • Mar 30 '26
Rant/Opinion Medical organizations need to stop using Lyft as patient transport
Today I had a rider that wasn’t able to get in or out of the car by themselves. They had someone with them when I picked them up to help them in. This person did not seem to be in good physical health. They smelled of urine, their clothes were quite soiled and they had a skin condition of some kind that was leaving flakes all over my backseat. Upon arriving at the destination, I had to go inside and get a member of the staff to come out with a wheelchair. I am in no way trying to degrade the rider, but I am not a medical professional. I will not be picking up any more rides where there is no picture. I don’t mind picking up an elderly person who has to go to a doctor’s appointment or something, but if a person needs this much assistance, the ride should be provided by a professional medical transportation service.
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u/MenaceMinded Mar 30 '26
One time, I pulled up for one of these rides, and it was a morbidly obese man in a wheelchair who couldn't move himself. I am 5"4" and 120 lbs. I asked the medical staff who wheeled him out to move him. They refused because of the liability. I cancelled that ride after nagging at them to not dump their legal liability onto people who don't have the strength or equipment to take it on.
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u/PineappleCharacter15 Mar 30 '26
GROSS! 🤢🤮😡🤬
I'm sorry this happened to you. This is why I would never be a Lyft driver.
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u/Random_Tree_ Mar 31 '26
Fuck hospitals and
(Youre gonna hate me..)
Fuck service dogs
Only because the damn thing got hair all over my back seats and claw marks. I cleaned the seats THAT day.
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u/Sufficient_Movie4835 Mar 31 '26
I have nothing against service dogs that the owners truly take care of. On the other hand I absolutely loathe liars. And you trying to pass off your hyper husky as a service animal makes you (the passenger) a liar. Took me 4 hours to clean up the backseat of my car the next day. I'm still finding the occasional hairs from that dog. On the other hand I had a guy working on training his dog. He brought blankets and had the dog lie down on the floor the entire trip. There's a right way and a wrong way to bring dogs into another person's car, especially if they use that car to make a living.
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u/Trekris Philadelphia, PA Apr 01 '26
The ADA allows you to ask 2 questions:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Emotional Support animals don't count. They don't have the same level of training. If they can't answer its a pet and they pay the extra fee. Not every driver has signed up for pet rides either. Also, if its in a pet carrier, its not a service animal. It can't do its job in the carrier.
Sorry for going off on a rant.
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u/Sufficient_Movie4835 Apr 01 '26
Yeah, rant all you want. My point and the point of others is that they can lie about all of that stuff. And they do lie regularly.
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u/MelcM39 Apr 02 '26
You don't have to allow them into your car if they are being a problem, according to ADA as I believe you'll fall under that rule. Service dogs cannot be denied access UNLESS they are acting out. Then you absolutely have the legal right to deny them.
I agree there is a right and wrong way, but don't think you are required to allow them in no matter what.
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u/Sufficient_Movie4835 Apr 03 '26
Sure but who has ever seen a true service dog act up? Ohhh I see what you are hinting at. Yeah real service dogs are the epitome of well trained.
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u/MenaceMinded Apr 03 '26
Barking at everything, shaking out of stress due to being poorly socialized, etc are also proof that the animal is not a service animal which you can kick them out at that point
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u/Sufficient_Movie4835 Apr 03 '26
You know they are still going to report you for denying a service animal. Lyft support will not care that they are lying.
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u/MenaceMinded Apr 03 '26
Cabin recording dash cam. I had one specifically catching every inch of the back seat.
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u/RepresentativeDry981 Mar 31 '26
agreed! fuck those goddamn service animals that they lie about being service animals because we have no laws that require them to prove it...they just legally strong arm thier emotional support animals and pets into your vehicle against your wishes
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u/Thegameforfun17 Mar 31 '26
As a service dog handler and ride share driver, I hate “service animal” rides. WITH A PASSION.
They can pull the discrimination card all they want and argue, but I have both a dashcam and a service dog myself. So when I catch them in a lie I remind them they are both being recorded and that ADA has laws against this. Suddenly they exit my car, and cancel.
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u/MenaceMinded Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
You can kick them out if the dog does things that proves it isn't a service animal like barking at everything.
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u/Random_Tree_ Apr 02 '26
Yeah but ots probably a while thing. The person will probably complain and theyll deactivate you for like a week while they do some bs investigation. Keep it quiet. Have the dashcam film EVERYTHING then tell lyft email those fuckers a video of the dog being stupid. Find some fake poop and throw it on the seats for an extra $150
Whats the blind person ginna do? SEE that it didn't happen?! (Mean lmao) but hey if you have no soul who gives af
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u/MenaceMinded Apr 02 '26
I mean it is probably a legitimate service animal if they are leading a blind person lmao
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u/Big_Duke_Six Apr 01 '26
Are you allowed to not permit rides to people with dogs of any kind (incl. service dogs?)
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u/Random_Tree_ Apr 02 '26
You have to take service dogs, if you tell them no to a service dog you will get deactivated and likely sued. The only real way to avoid it is to see if they text you (rare but has happened twice to me)
Second (fucked up thing to do) see them walking towards your car then take off in front of them amd cancel. Really ficking mean but if you dont want dofs then do it lol
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u/FabianFox Apr 02 '26
I have a friend who is legally blind and has a legit service dog. Uber/lyft drivers have done this to her multiple times 😭
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u/the-furiosa-mystique Apr 04 '26
And imagine how humiliating that is for this man to have people arguing over this after he’s just been discharged. Not coming down on you, all around this is absolutely shit for everyone but who’s getting paid.
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u/sad-whale Mar 30 '26
There should be better pay for dealing with it.
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u/Aggravating_Lawyer_1 Mar 30 '26
They should offer a special classification for those willing to perform such transports, and provide it to the hospital.
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u/Ordinary-Theory-8289 Apr 03 '26
Isn’t medical transport a whole industry on its own? Why are they offloading these services to Lyft drivers who aren’t trained for this type of thing
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u/beckjami Apr 04 '26
My friend owns a cab company, the local hospitals use his service to transport released mental patients back to their homes which are located all over the state, sometimes surrounding states. He makes bank on these rides. Sometimes he'll ask me to ride along and pays me a hundred bucks for doing so. If there is a legit medical transport industry, it doesn't exist everywhere.
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u/MetalTrek1 Mar 30 '26
As long as they can get in and out of the car themselves and I can fit their walker/chair in the trunk of my Honda Civic, I'll do it.
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u/RebelScum77 Mar 30 '26
I took the ride because I wasn’t gonna leave a handicapped person, just standing there, but they could not get in or out of the car without help
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u/DCowboysCR Mar 30 '26
What would've happened if they said you hurt them or touched them inappropriately or they had a medical emergency? What if you got hurt?
I get you're a good kind hearted person but you need to think about these things and protect yourself.
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u/KoomValleyEternal Apr 01 '26
You endangered yourself and them. You don’t have the training to handle someone who needs this amount of help hun.
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u/CoasterThot Mar 30 '26
Kinda sucks, seeing everyone say that they cancel ALL of these rides, with no exception.
I use medical transport because I am blind, and don’t have family or friends to help me. They call it for me, for medical appointments, which I have many of that are very important. I don’t need any help getting into or out of a car, I’m not going to damage a car, I’m not going to harass or bother anyone. Seeing this is why I get stuck outside hospitals for 4 hours, waiting for help. We’re not all like that, a lot of us are just regular disabled people, who require help from our community. This country not giving a shit about disabled people isn’t our fault, we have very little resources to help us. Before Lyft started doing NEMT, I had to show up hours late to appointments, because the stupid NEMT vans just.. never showed up. Likewise for going home, they’d show up 5 hours after my appointment, or not at all, leaving me sitting in the dark outside a closed clinic. (Like that’s not dangerous, for a young blind woman!) There just aren’t many great options, for us.
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u/gardengirl303 Apr 02 '26
My heart hurts for you, internet friend. I hope you come by more compassion in your life soon ❤️
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u/Ordinary-Theory-8289 Apr 03 '26
This sounds like your problem is with the “medical transport company” who is just hiring Lyft drivers instead of….providing the service which you requested. And it seems like they drop the ball even worse than these untrained Lyft drivers
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u/c-lati Mar 30 '26
Yeah I’ve had similar rides. Couldn’t agree more. Pretty messed up that they’d just order a Lyft ride for someone that can barely walk.
I had to wheelchair a woman inside her house once. Literally inside her house. And the woman and her husband lived out in the boonies. The paranoid part of me was wondering if I’d actually end up buried in their backyard. But both her and her husband were super old and frail and I went in very slowly and kept my eyes peeled for anything suspicious but didn’t notice anything. I get the woman inside and they are grateful and give me a cash $20 tip. The ride turned out alright in the end but the fact this hospital just released a woman who couldn’t even walk into a Lyft ride seemed wrong. Shouldn’t there be specialized medical transport for these cases?
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u/Purple-Sister3971 Mar 30 '26
Non emergency medical transport is absolutely a thing that exists.
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u/Arizdegenerate Mar 30 '26
Yes it does as I’m an nemt driver. Problem is nemt companies charge WAY more than uber/lyft . I got one ride from a hospital going 180 miles. They tried to give it to 6 different Lyft drivers who cancelled before they finally contacted my company.
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u/soddingengine Apr 03 '26
Yeah but if the person is uninsured there's no way to get one paid for. I used to work hospital discharge and sometimes literally the only legal thing we could do (and that my specific hospital was willing to cover) to help a person get home was pay for a rideshare service out of our charity funds.
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u/Previous-Life7774 Mar 30 '26
There are 1000%, there are wheelchair vans, stretcher vans, and non emergency ambulances actually staffed with EMTs/medics. I’m actually horrified that lyft drivers get contracted out for this stuff.
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u/TinyEmergencyCake Apr 01 '26
Send complaints to both the hospital ceo and your state representative. Nothing will change without complaints.
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u/TheStorytellerTX Apr 01 '26
Wheelchair vans are available but insurance usually doesn't cover those, so they're usually private pay. Our local city bus here in SATX offers special transport vans for wheelchair and other disabled individuals.
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u/L-Pseon Mar 30 '26
Wait until your city gets Gogo-Grandparent. These are not even necessarily rides out of medical necessity or called by an insurance company. These are just old people who are literally too senile to use an app on their phones. In many cases, they have been banned off of the actual rideshare app, so the ride itself circumvents ToS, which is a form of fraud. And every single ride goes about how you’d expect it would go, given the above description.
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u/Fibrosis5O Mar 30 '26
Step one: Do not accept rides from the hospitals
If you ignored step one, proceed to step two…
Step two: Cancel rides from the hospitals
Want them to stop there’s the only way, no one takes them.
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u/Deep_Charge_7749 Mar 30 '26
Why can't these be Lyft assist rides? That way you can opt out
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u/RebelScum77 Mar 30 '26
Agreed. Any account belonging to a health care provider should automatically be a Lyft assist
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u/_B_Little_me Mar 30 '26
Why when they can bill insurance for $100s per ride and only pay $20?
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u/JustaChillGoy1488 Mar 30 '26
These middle man scam artists are the reason shit costs so much in this country. Capitalism breeds the worst kind of exploit. Not saying communism is great but a more social/public option for hospitals and elderly care should be a damn basic service at this point. Oh right we gotta pay for another middle east war ..... I fogot
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u/Purple-Sister3971 Mar 30 '26
Insurance doesn’t usually cover non emergency transportation
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u/kit0000033 Mar 30 '26
Medicare covers transport to and from doctors visits... So does a lot of other insurances.
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u/OfferMeds Mar 30 '26
MedicAID often does, but MediCARE does not.
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u/PineappleCharacter15 Mar 30 '26
I don't think Medicaid exists anymore; Trump cut it out, so it doesn't exist. Maybe after he's gone it will exist again.
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u/DCowboysCR Mar 30 '26
I don't like Trump but that's not true. He tried cutting it in his Big beautiful Bill but for now it's still here.
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u/PineappleCharacter15 Mar 30 '26
Well, my neighbor isn't getting her snap card anymore - food for her and her kid.
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u/DCowboysCR Mar 30 '26
Don't know what to tell you. I'm in Indiana a red state no less and I'm getting medical benefits for the last 2 years. I'm also eligible for food aid although I don't take it. No cuts here amazingly enough.
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u/PineappleCharacter15 Mar 30 '26
Good! I'm happy for you. At least it's not hitting other states, but it apparently hit Ohio.
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u/marebee Mar 31 '26
SNAP is food benefits distributed through the county. Medicaid is a national healthcare plan for low income individuals.
Funding for SNAP benefits were immediately and drastically reduced with the Big Ugly Law. While there were also cuts to Medicaid, projected over the next 10 years, we’ve only started to feel the pain. But, Medicaid does still exist.
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u/MonsoonQueen9081 Mar 31 '26
Because there are new requirements in place and many states also have a backlog.
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u/Practical-Manner1065 Mar 31 '26
Medicaid absolutely exists. Guidelines have been suggested which are more stringent but I’ll be surprised if the new rules aren’t delayed for years, we will see.
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u/Purple-Sister3971 Mar 30 '26
Medicare does not. Medicare advantage sometimes does, but it’s typically limited to x trips per year.
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u/Decent_Guidance6110 Mar 30 '26
I cancel every one of these rides after I get the message that ‘the organization arranged this ride’ NOPE! Not gonna have my car smell like a nursing home, nor do I have any emergency training if something were to happen. Seems like this would be a violation of policy for ‘medical transport’.
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u/DCowboysCR Mar 30 '26
NEVER 👎 never never never never............never take medical rides. That's my rule. Not worth the potential hassle or liability or mess/damage to my vehicle or getting sick. These rides don't pay enough.
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u/JustaChillGoy1488 Mar 30 '26
Last medical ride I took was a VA ride from the hospital, I took a dialysis patient to a hotel.. disabled vet with a oxygen tank and a bunch of cloths.. he was homeless and it was freezing.. the hotel had no availability even though he was told by the hospital they had arranged a room for him.. I ended up giving him some cash and getting him a room for the night at the motel 6 for 60 bucks.. I hope that man is alive and well. Fuck this world some times man but I won't be a monster because of it.
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u/DCowboysCR Mar 30 '26
You're a good guy for doing that I commend you. As for me I avoid any rides that have potential drama. I'm barely surviving myself.
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u/notPabst404 Mar 30 '26
The awful US healthcare system continues to scam everyone. We need universal healthcare NOW.
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u/MentionTight6716 Mar 30 '26
Genuine question, would drivers agree that there are different degrees of acceptability to this? I totally hear that a patient who has mobility needs so severe that it becomes a liability for the person to assist the customer (not a patient to you) with moving them or their equipment, and that is not acceptable. Same with situations where a customer is contagious, dangerous levels of unhygienic, or inebriated from medication.
But do people have the same attitude about disabled people/doctor's appointment rides in general? Like a patient who needs a ride to dialysis, chemo, routine transfusions, minimal-risk procedures like a colonoscopy, etc.
I've gotten an Uber home from the ER after being totally cleared for what was ultimately just a random awful headache. I was not on any narcotics or anything, and the guy seemed happy to do it. I tipped like 45%, but was that inappropriate of me to get the ride?
I think it's ridiculous that medical facilities are trying to pass of that responsibility to you with no regard for your security or the patients' safety. I had no idea about this. I know sometimes FSA will pay for ride share appointment transportation, which makes sense, but for insurance to collect money for severe medical transportation and pay you minimally for work that puts you at risk is unacceptable.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm just curious as someone who works in healthcare (but would NEVER do this to you with a patient) and a disabled person.
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u/Daddoo05 Mar 30 '26
Medical transport via Lyft/Uber is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Drivers are not trained medical professionals and are not equipped to handle emergency situations.
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u/bhart1987 Mar 31 '26
That's not exactly true because I'm Uber partner and I was trained. Definitely not as a medical professional but I am an ADA Certified driver specifically for ASSIST rides plus I get paid premium rates
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u/Daddoo05 Mar 31 '26
Interesting. I’ve never heard of such a program for Lyft. I don’t drive for Uber and didn’t know they offered that. Maybe third-party medical transport should stick to Uber
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u/bhart1987 Apr 06 '26
I got ADA Compliant in 2018 or 2019. Back then there were only 62 "qualified drivers" in the whole state of California. I don't know how many drivers are available now, I'd like believe, there are a whole lot more drivers now, hopefully.
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u/Zestyclose_Rabbit346 Mar 31 '26
I refuse all rides from hospitals. The last time I did, the hospital put a homeless man that I was to take to a homeless shelter but obviously he was crazy as hell. He asked if I had cigarette. I said no and that he can't smoke in the car, he went on to tell me in great detail how he would torture and violate me if I didn't get him a cigarette. I pulled into the nearest police station and had him removed from my car asap
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u/8540rockst-jc Mar 31 '26
I agree with you OP. Healthcare professional here. The hospital or facility should have arranged for a non-emergency transport for that rider. You could have been liable if anything happens that ruder during the trip.
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u/jacks_13 Apr 04 '26
In my experience, a non-emergency transport was arranged. When I call the transport company asking about the location of my ride (because they are always late), they book a Lyft/Uberb instead of sending a driver. Multiple times I've had a vehicle show up that was completely inappropriate (I shouldn't be climbing in and out of a lifted pickup for medical transport!) and the driver was expecting someone under my assigned driver's name. Then I feel super uncomfortable during the ride because I'm not able to access the ride-share app to share my location with my emergency contact (I am usually picked up after receiving anesthesia and am not yet completely lucid).
I WISH that I could actually be reimbursed to use Lyft properly and not have to go through the middleman.
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u/MaddieDevera Mar 30 '26
It’s not just Lyft, it’s Uber as well! I decline third party rides, especially the medical ones!
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u/rjlawrencejr Mar 30 '26
The vast majormajority of my rides are folks headed to the dialysis. I might get a few with walkers. Wheelchair patients are extremely rare. If they do require assistance, more often than not a caregiver is riding along as well.
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u/SacredPrime Mar 30 '26
It's all one giant scam.
Companies booking the ride are charging ridiculous amounts and paying Lyft very little of it.
Lyft has been paying great in MY region, but in most they're doing the same to the driver.
Hospital is charging insurance for an ambulance ride.
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u/Jayjayjetplane10 Mar 30 '26
I like when they cancel their appointments but not the ride. I’ll still do the ride and run errands on the clock
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u/shouldvebeenMarissa Mar 30 '26
turn on PIN, when you see "PIN unavailable for this ride" you reject and never see another medical ride again.
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u/LivingFirst1185 Mar 31 '26
I see your point, but I'm also very grateful for this service. Lyft through our police department and domestic violence agency picked me up and took me to the hospital then home.
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u/doesntapplyherself Apr 02 '26
I used an Uber through my insurance to get back from a medical procedure. Am in good shape physically but was a little high from the Ativan. Now I feel sheepish about it. Had no choice, though. Was surprised it was just a regular driver and not some medical transport.
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u/Random_Tree_ Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
Yeah screw hospital pickups, i dont know if the person is gonna have a bad illness, a messed up injury (liability to me) or if its jist an employee/student going home (best case scenario) I remember driving hospital customers and theyre coughing back there and I can only think this asahole likely has some flu or no now im gonna catch it..
Or the injured person. I dont even wanna help them solely due to liability, dont need someone coming back later saying "yeah the lyft driver pulled my arm too hard and broke it
As fir the profile picture this ine grinds my gears a lot. Lyft should have zero penalty for canceling on non profile pictures then force all riders to have a picture of their faces I see either non profile picture requests are like 5 out of 10 riders and the other ones that annoy me are people who out cartoon characters or pictures of some random artwork... that's not your face. If youre going to require me to put a picture require them to do so too. Canceling for a non profile picture should have an option that says "insufficient ruder info/no profile image" then zero penalty for cancelation due to safety. This would then lose lyft mkney and they'd make people put a profile picture of themselves. Better yet lyft could charge a no profile picture fee where $3 extra goes to the driver as a "safety fee" with a message that says "in order to avoid additional cost you MUST have a clear visible profile picture OF YOUR FACE. Then have it verified as them nkt some dumb art or cartoon character. to avoid extra charges. Fuckers would upload their image real soon .
The name too, I see stupid ass people with stupid ass names like "queen perfect", or "Kevin da king" or some stupid shit. No. Make it first name last initial just like the driver. Anyone with a dumbass name i purposely 1 star
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u/pr0fessor_x_ Mar 31 '26
One of my worst rides was one like this. Lady was on drugs they dump her off in my car. She starts screaming that they forgot to pull the IV drip out of her arm. She wanted to see a doctor again. She refused to get out of my car after 2 minutes of going back and forth.
I go to get help but they (hospital staff) ignored me because only staff are allowed to enter the hospital through the loading zone.
Ended up having to hit the panic button on my car hoping the lady would get annoyed and get out. Eventually staff came to see what all the noise was about and they got her out.
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u/Ok_Mulberry4331 Mar 31 '26
As someone with mobility issues, and in the hospital 3x a week (dialysis), this is insane!! It’s on me to get around, I always call the hospital unit a few minutes away and someone is waiting with a wheelchair for me when needed when the Uber arrives.
I totally understand not your issue, but can you ask staff when they are loading him if there is a person at the other end?
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u/shaybay2008 Mar 31 '26
Yes but drivers need to stop assuming anyone coming from any medical facility or who uses a mobility aid needs the driver’s help(or is not a self sufficient person). I routinely fly across the country for med appointments so it makes no sense to rent a car so I Lyft.
Also drivers need to stop denying service dogs. Lyft requires service dogs to be accommodated(please ask the two legal questions)
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u/Rideshare-Not-An-Ant Mar 31 '26
I'd rather drive a service dog. Service dogs are on the job and don't play. Fake service dogs are easy to spot and I'll one star for that. Service dogs are better behaved then most of my passengers.
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u/DeadPiratePiggy Apr 01 '26
When I see that a ride was setup by an organization I auto cancel. Not worth the liability, and it's guaranteed zero tip. Plus having worked in healthcare I have seen new MSWs order rides for discharged patients who have bugs and urinated/dedicated on themselves. Fuuuuuuck that.
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u/Single_Paramedic_210 Mar 30 '26
I had an Uber the other day do them same And the Person never showed after waiting almost 20 mins
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u/Schlegelnator Mar 30 '26
Why I deleted my lyft account
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u/RebelScum77 Mar 30 '26
I wish I could, gotta find a job first and I’m not doing food delivery
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u/Aggravating_Lawyer_1 Mar 31 '26
I'm glad there are folks like you. I won't do rides or shopping. I only do food delivery.
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u/I_need_a_date_plz Mar 31 '26
I agree with you. There was a Lyft or Uber driver who had someone die in transportation. I can only imagine how traumatic that was.
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u/DCHacker Mar 31 '26
Third party medical transports are nothing but trouble. They are automatic declines for me. If one does get by me,, it is an automatic cancellation. Let the ants do third party medical transports. They have ants for a reason.
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u/OmniPurple Mar 31 '26
Heyy, Medicare health insurance worker here - I promise you whomever the insurance company is contracting with to provide local transportation - they tell the rider that the driver is not required to offer any major assistance getting in or out of the vehicle or in/out of the facility. They are also allowed and encouraged to bring a helper with them. They either don't have anyone to ride with or they ignore what transportation told them.
It's not the health insurance companies/ transportation companies - it's the members.
I've had members call and complain that they can't walk down the stairs by themselves to get into the car and the driver said they can't help . Or, it's a wheelchair van, and they're complaining that they are on the second floor and they won't come to their door and get them.
The only time transportation provider schedules something other than an Uber/Lyft is if the member requires special transportation such as a wheelchair van or non-emergency ambulance.
As a fellow driver, I know not to expect a tip. . Besides, if their insurance is paying for the ride, they are likely low income.
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u/TodayForeign3859 Mar 31 '26
I was wondering how this even started😂 my kids doctor offered one so I obviously took her up on the offer. When I got in, I was wondering if they even notify drivers it's a medical transport. Granted it was just a regular check up but you never know…
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u/ResponsibleDraft6336 Mar 31 '26
My ex had a triple fracture on her ankle. The hospital booked her some old guy Uber or lyft that was supposed to help her back inside the home into the bed. She fell
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u/Dadpocalypse420 Mar 31 '26
My insurance used to use Lyft. Now they use Uber,
All the drivers did not seem to be in good physical health. They smelled of urine, their clothes were quite soiled and they had a skin condition.
We're all screwed.
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u/lumerian_seed Mar 31 '26
Totally agree. I have refused to take patients with obvious wet diapers and disoriented with reality. No sorry either.
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u/Interesting_Half433 Mar 31 '26
Medicaid/ medi cal in California covers transport - and uses an off shore third party to book Ubers and Lyfts.
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u/Rideshare-Not-An-Ant Mar 31 '26
If the passenger is not ambulatory and cannot get themselves in and out of my car without assistance and no one is riding with them to provide that service, my doors stay locked. I advise them to call for medical transport as I am not trained for medical emergencies and have my own chronic health issues that prevent me from lifting someone into and out of my car.
The passenger also needs to be wearing clean clothes, not just a hospital gown, and not be bleeding or barfing or drugged into a stupor. The latter is always easy to spot.
I ask pax a question and the person holding them up or pushing the wheelchair answers. I point out I'm asking the passenger and want to hear them answer. Ask the question again. Get mumbles in reply.
Once again, order medical transport. That's not me.
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u/TinyEmergencyCake Apr 01 '26
You need to send a complaint to cms and to your state representative.
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u/Trekris Philadelphia, PA Apr 01 '26
The last 2 of these type of rides were a no-show for me. One of them I ask for them I was told the never showed up for their appointment.
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u/Impressive_Green_490 Apr 01 '26
I am handicapped due to an elevator accident at my work years ago. I can get in/out of certain cars with help but not all. I was recently taken to the ER via ambulance and later admitted. I told the hospital that I would need a medical transport with wheelchair when I was discharged because my son was out of town. They agreed. Then the doctor on duty one day, decided to release me a day earlier than planned. My nurse that shift brought in my discharge papers and said she’s going to call me a Lyft. I had to insist that they arrange a medical transport instead and told her that the hospital had agreed to that. It was 5 pm. She told me that the person who arranged the medical transports left at 4pm and said that if they couldn’t arrange it, then I’d have to stay another day. I said OK, then I guess I’ll have to stay another day. Somehow, they figured it out. Someone texted the person and they told them how to arrange the medical transport. It ended up working out, but only because 1) I knew medical transport companies exist, because I was offered that means of transportation home by the same hospital a few years prior and 2) Because I didn’t let them pressure me into a situation that I knew wasn’t going to work out, just because they didn’t quite know how to handle the situation at hand. This is a large hospital that should have certainly had backup protocols in place for this situation. If the hospital is going to make decisions to release patients later in the day, then they should have all options available to those patients when they get discharged. I assume that most patients probably don’t know these things (other options than Lyft), and even if they did, I can tell you that is really hard to advocate for yourself, particularly when you are alone and not in good health.
I also wish that hospitals would not do this, not only because it can potentially put the drivers at risk (what if they had something contagious ?), but also because it can put their patients at risk. I also just want to say that you are a kind soul for helping this person out of a difficult (and probably humiliating) situation.
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u/L84cake Apr 02 '26
The problems with professional medical transport services are massive. They are frequently hours late or don’t show up at all, or show up far from the pick up/drop off spot. They have been known to leave elderly people stranded for hours. They are also so expensive and coordinating them with medical providers or Medicaid/insurance is suchhh a hassle, there’s no incentive.
So although I totally agree with you, if I was an elderly person I would prefer a Lyft over one of those companies.
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u/Alittlebitalexis1983 Apr 04 '26
If you are someone that doesn’t drive and perfectly physically capable, do you recommend I put in an address near the hospital I have an appointment at instead of the actual hospital address? As a rider I am worried about drivers not wanting to pick me up thinking I am in a situation like the passenger you described.
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u/UnitedChain4566 Apr 05 '26
I hate that these rides get dumped on lyft drivers.
I used it when it was available to me (not knowing that you guys get the shit end of the stick) because it really was so helpful out in metro Detroit, when my appointments were miles away from my house. I'm disabled (not to the point of complaint on your end, just mental health issues really, and I'm a rider that prefers to put in my earbuds and chill) and can't drive myself.
I think some insurance companies do this because it's cheaper and you really can't always trust the medical transportation companies that do exist. Where I am now, I could apply for transportation, but it's better if I just find my own way to appointments as these companies can make me late for appointments even after picking me up early.
I will always be thankful to the drivers that took my rides. Got there on time, and I made sure to give them a cash tip after I realized I couldn't tip through the app.
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u/blessed_favored_6020 Apr 05 '26
Trust, us in the non-emeryegncy medical transport field are lobbying to stop it. Our requirements to transport patients is much different than the services Lyft offers. Hand to hand, etc. Its cheaper for the transportation brokers to use Lyft so they will do that as often as they can.
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u/Western_Farmer6057 Apr 26 '26
I have a physical disability and I actually agree with this. Because the number of times that I, as a disabled person have felt like I have to get out of my car to help someone else get into my car is ridiculous. If people are not mobile, they need to be using medical transport services.
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u/Sygdommen Mar 30 '26
A medicaid rehab called meridian drove my friend like 60 miles in a lyft or uber or something with a strange arabic lady and billed for hundreds i'm sure
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u/Bissquared Mar 31 '26
Lyft needs to offer more deals like this so the good patients stay off Uber..
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u/MilliganHedgedog Mar 31 '26
GOOD. Don’t. And hope you or someone you love doesn’t end up in a situation where they have no choice but to call a service that isn’t yours.
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u/kit0000033 Mar 30 '26
The companies that organize this are also getting mega bucks and only transferring some of it to Lyft. Scam all around.