The popular ride-hailing company, Uber, has announced the creation of its new service for healthcare- Uber Health. The service is a desktop platform that will enable healthcare providers and doctors to make available rides for patients who are most likely to miss their next medical appointments because they can’t get to them.

Uber Health is a transit service of the Uber ride-hailing company, showing its commitment to venture into the healthcare sector in the United States. The service is offering an option for patients who may not otherwise make appointments due to the fact that they may not have transportation.

The Uber Health Service is something that has been in a testing phase since the beginning of July last year. As many as 100 hospitals, clinics, and therapy centers, have signed up for the new service. The Uber Health Service will be available to manage rides set up by doctor’s office, or by other healthcare providers and bill them accordingly.

The use of the Uber app has replaced medical shuttles and taxis.  The only service that will not be part of this new addition is the ambulance.

Some of the benefits to the Uber Health App include:

• On-Demand Scheduling

According to a SCI Solutions survey, missed appointments are responsible for over +$150 billion dollars in annual losses for healthcare providers.  “No-Show” rates make up for as much as 40%.  However, with a reliable service like Uber Health, that rate will drop significantly as more people are now able to afford transportation.

• Destination Tracking

Uncertainty is part of the problem that healthcare facilities often have with taxis and bringing patients to their medical appointments. “With taxis, you have to hand out a voucher, and the worst is you aren’t sure where the person is going. Moreover, it cost 20% to 40% more,” concluded, Chris Needman, a Healthcare Provider involve in testing the Uber Health Service.

But with Uber Health, the story is different. The service allows hospital staff to assess which patients are at risk for missing vital appointments, and from there can provide them with pick-up and drop-off rides—all at the expense of the hospital.

• Help in Realizing Patients Goals

The Uber Health ride-hailing service allows healthcare providers to assist patients in meeting their healthcare goals—an essential factor for regulators when scoring how well a facility performs.

Lyft, one of Uber’s rival in the hailing business also offers a similar service known as “Concierge,” which enables healthcare providers to provide rides for their patients as well. Uber also operates another service called UberWAV, which enables providers to order wheelchair accessible vans through pilot programs in Chicago, Toronto, Austin, and London, as stated in Uber’s official website.

The service provided by Uber and Lyft in the healthcare industry makes for a revolution that tactically removes traditional transportation providers such as taxis and shuttle services.

A sudden drop in automotive sales has raised concern amongst economists in the United States. Many auto lenders have tightened their lending policies, making it more difficult for buyers to get financed. According to Forbes, banks are lending less money to potential buyers. According to a recent analysis, the average credit score for approved new vehicle loans skyrocketed to a record high in 2017.

For auto-loaners, the recent trend is a positive development, considering the trouble that auto lenders faced when subprime vehicle loans began experiencing financial difficulties in 2016.   Auto lenders started tightening their lending standards for prime and subprime borrowers in 2016 as banks were reporting higher losses on defaulted auto loans.  An increase in borrowers who fell behind on payments as well as the declining value of used cars is also contributing to the latest development.

As positive as this may be for auto lenders, consumers are the ones who may be affected the most.  Some financial analysists are predicting consumers may receive less for their trade-ins, as well as pay even more for on down payments. This, for prime and subprime borrowers, means an end to easy auto-loan approvals.

The loans that auto lenders are selling to investors are referred to as asset-back securities. Selling off these loans enables the lenders to raise more money, which is used to originate further loans. In turn, the income from the loan is collected by the investor while the loan is paid back. Some of these lenders are using specialized companies to monitor the level of loans sold to ensure a timely payoff.

According to Forbes, a number of these negative trends in auto loans continued into 2018, but the level of deterioration has slowed down. For instance, there was an increment in net credit losses that was recorded for securitized loans in 2017. However, losses recorded on prime-risk loans remain at less than 1 percent, with a slower rate increase compare to 2016. Lastly, the report also stated that the net loss rate for 2017 was 0.73%, a surge from 0.63% in 2016.

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