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Kaiser reports 27 ride requests in January for new transportation benefit; board seeks cleaning and testing assurances amid COVID‑19
Summary
Kaiser Permanente told the board it has recorded 27 successful transportation requests in January and outlined a multi‑pronged outreach plan to notify Medicare Advantage members; wheelchair‑van and gurney‑van coverage remain targeted for 01/01/2021 pending CMS compliance, and commissioners asked Kaiser to confirm vendor cleaning and infection‑control procedures.
Kaiser Permanente representatives gave the board a quarterly update on a transportation benefit available to SFHSS Medicare Advantage members and outlined several next steps for expanding and communicating the service.
Denise Rodriguez, Kaiser director of strategic accounts for the public sector, said Kaiser recorded 27 successful transportation requests in January. She said Kaiser is working to add wheelchair‑van and gurney‑van coverage, but those services are subject to CMS compliance and the target start date is January 1, 2021; there were no mid‑cycle additions confirmed at the meeting.
Julie Brady, Kaiser’s executive retiree solutions manager, described a communications campaign that began in January: outbound phone calls and emails to Medicare Advantage members, a transportation flyer added to the Kaiser microsite and to agent and open‑enrollment kits, and a mailed notice to senior‑advantage retirees that will include step‑by‑step instructions for using the benefit.
Commissioners asked whether the vendor is providing cleaning and infection‑control assurances for rides given COVID‑19 concerns. Brady said she would follow up with the vendor; Denise Rodriguez agreed to work with the vendor and to post vendor cleaning information to the Kaiser microsite so members can see how vehicles are being managed.
A commissioner also asked whether the program can capture how members heard about the service; Brady said the board could ask the vendor to start recording that referral data during intake calls to target future outreach.
What the transcript records: 27 January transports, a multi‑channel communications plan aimed at Medicare Advantage members, a vendor follow‑up commitment on vehicle cleaning and on tracking how members heard of the benefit, and a target rollout date of 01/01/2021 for gurney and wheelchair van coverage subject to CMS compliance.
