Trends in Medicare Advantage plans' adoption of nonmedical transportation benefits

Transportation is essential to health. Transportation barriers are associated with higher emergency department use, more hospital readmissions, worse care continuity, and lower outpatient utilization. Historically, Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, the private capitated segment of Medicare, could offer non-emergency medical transportation as an optional supplemental benefit. In 2018, Congress passed the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act, which allowed plans to tailor social needs benefits to chronically ill members beginning in 2020. MA plans could offer expanded transportation benefits, including nonmedically related trips (e.g., rides to churches, gyms, grocery stores, banks). In this study, we analyzed trends in nonmedical transportation (NMT) benefit availability over time, and how this varied by MA plan characteristics.