Getting to treatment should be the least of a patient’s worries

Getting to treatment should be the least of a patient's worries
Medicare’s annual open enrollment period has begun. Still, as seniors consider their options for the coming year, one need that likely won’t be met by their chosen plan is transportation for routine care.

In 2017, 5.8 million Americans delayed medical care because they did not have transportation, according to social scientist and researcher Mary Katherine Wolfe of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Colorado having to go without medical care. If transportation to and from appointments and pharmacy pick-ups isn’t available, seniors won’t start and stay on treatment and many will face greater health challenges. Amid a global pandemic, the need for safe and reliable transport is even more urgent. This is making charitable patient assistance programs even more essential, but more help is needed.