Uber Health’s New Offering, Uber Caregiver to Support Caregivers Across the US

Uber Health recently announced Uber Caregiver, a new initiative toward innovating caregiving support and addressing the needs of millions of caregivers across the United States.

Set to launch this summer, Uber Caregiver is tailored specifically for caregivers and their loved ones, aiming to tackle challenges head on and enhance the overall care experience.

In the U.S., the caregiving landscape is made of over 53 million people serving as caregivers, a figure that continues to grow, according to a news release from Uber Health.

Many of these caregivers are adults balancing the care of aging parents with their own familial, professional and household responsibilities, leading to emotional stress and burden.

One of the key features Uber Caregiver aims to utilize while tackling these caregiver burdens is to integrate directly into the Uber app, allowing care-receivers to add their caregivers to their profiles.

This gives caregivers the opportunity to request and monitor rides and deliveries, as well as use the care-receiver's eligible health benefits for payments.

By pairing these functions within a familiar platform, Uber aims to simplify the process of managing healthcare benefits, as caregiving can be overwhelming, from scheduling appointments to managing expenses.

According to the release, caregivers often find themselves navigating multiple systems to access and utilize healthcare benefits, adding to their stress and financial strain.

Uber Caregiver plans to address these challenges by offering a one-stop solution for caregivers to understand and act on benefit information seamlessly.

Through Uber's mobility and merchant networks, Uber Caregiver offers caregivers several benefits including receiving real-time updates and visibility into their loved one's healthcare benefits, enabling informed decisions without worrying about coverage limitations.

Uber shared with Managed Healthcare Executive that safety also remains a top priority for their company with guidelines in place to ensure rider and driver security.

For example, every trip is insured and drivers undergo thorough screening before joining the platform. Uber Caregiver also includes advanced in-app features, such as GPS tracking and RideCheck.

Zachary Clark, head of growth at Uber Health, emphasized the company's commitment to collaborating with healthcare providers and insurers to easily integrate Uber Caregiver into existing care coordination efforts.

“We believe that we can be the most impactful by lightening the logistical load for caregivers—via things like helping reduce back and forths with insurance companies, tracking trips en route, enabling a three-way chat functionality so drivers can easily communicate with both parties, simplifying navigation and application of available benefits in the app, and more,” Clark said.

“All of these features will help to improve the care experience and provide greater peace of mind for caregivers. Ultimately, Uber Caregiver was built with the needs of caregivers and their loved ones at heart.”