Becoming a caregiver can be a sometimes unexpected — and costly — challenge. But a new tool from Uber, called Uber Caregiver, is designed to make getting your loved ones' rides and medication a little easier.
Launching this summer, the new feature will let caregivers help coordinate recipients' care with rides, medications and more.
The program was developed by Uber Health lead engineer Jeremy Hintz and his team — with his grandparents in mind. After Hintz’s grandfather suffered a stroke, he could no longer provide care for his wife, who has dementia. So Hintz's mother stepped in to became their primary caregiver.
“All this actually came out of a phone conversation I was having with my mom about the things she needed help with day-to-day,” Hintz told NBC’s senior consumer investigative correspondent Vicky Nguyen in TODAY's exclusive first look at the product. “We have Uber and Uber Eats; why can’t we tap into health care benefits, too?”
Hintz’s mother and grandparents were among the first to test out an early version of Uber Caregiver, which helped inform the design of the final product rolling out this summer.
What is Uber Caregiver?
Uber Caregiver is a new feature in the Uber and Uber Eats apps launching this summer that will allow caregivers to use health insurance benefits to arrange and pay for eligible rides to doctor's appointments for their care recipient and track the ride.
In the future, the tool will also allow caregivers to manage grocery and over-the-counter item delivery, including medicines and medical equipment, according to the company.
Both the caregiver and recipient can track the progress of rides and purchases. A three-way chat feature in the app allows the caregiver, rider and driver to stay in communication. And the caregiver receives a notification when the rider has made it to their destination safely.
The company plans to cover:
- Customers age 65 and older with Medicare Advantage,
- Medicaid recipients and
- People with eligible commercial insurance via their employer
How to get Uber Caregiver
Starting Wednesday, May 15, 2024, caregivers and care receivers can sign up to be notified when their insurance provider is added as an Uber Caregiver partner.
To set up Uber Caregiver, the care recipient adds their health benefits card to their wallet in both the Uber and Uber Eats apps. Health benefits cards are pre-funded debit cards issued by health insurance plans that can be used on eligible health care expenses, such as co-pays, prescriptions, medical devices, transportation and more. Coverage varies by plan.
Once the card is added, the care recipient can designate a caregiver from their existing contacts or by adding their contact information.
Michael Prestileo, the chief commercial officer of Guardian, one of the insurance companies in discussions with Uber to be involved in the new feature, said in a statement: “We’re eager to see how we can work with Uber Health to utilize Uber Caregiver as a way to make it easier for our members and disability claimants to access care, while also supporting those who are already doing so much to support others. It’s important that Guardian play a role in delivering these solutions to a broader set of consumers.”
When is Uber Caregiver launching?
Uber Caregiver will launch the summer of 2024 with the feature of caregivers being able to order and track rides of care recipients. The grocery-ordering feature will be available by the end of 2024, according to the company.
