For Workers’ Compensation, Lyft and Uber Aren’t the Answer

Transporting work comp patients to and from medical visits, PT, IMEs, hearings and the like is a big business — big for workers’ comp that is. At first blush, it looks like a perfect opportunity for Lyft and Uber (L/U)- they’ve got a gazillion drivers everywhere, a great service model, and they are much less expensive than the traditional work comp transportation services.

In fact, OneCall and Lyft announced a partnership over two years ago.

Here’s why I don’t think they’ll replace work comp-specific transportation companies.

The big one — being late for or missing an IME is really, really expensive — the payer has to pay the IME doc the $1000 — $2000 anyway, rescheduling an IME incurs more indemnity, attorney, and other expense, and it makes adjusters nuts. The same is true for PT or other medical treatment — although not quite as bad.