Transportation to medical appointments, senior 65+ (help needed)
Hi all - I’m hoping to get some advice or recommendations from people who’ve dealt with this locally.
My mom is 65+ and lives in NE Minneapolis. She does not drive anymore due to health reasons. She’s on Medicare and Social Security (low income, but maybe not low enough to qualify for every assistance program).
She used to have transportation covered through UCare when she had state insurance and they would arrange free rides for her appointments (like with Helpful Hands Transportation or other similar companies). That worked really well, especially because it was a private car/van ride that would take her door-to-door (directly from home to the doctor office and back when she was done).
Now we’re struggling to find something similar, and it’s starting to become a real issue - she’s already had to cancel multiple medical appointments because she doesn’t have reliable transportation. She has very limited contacts in the area and the few people who could help aren’t available very often.
Main issues:
* She has difficulty with stairs and has minor balance issues sometimes, especially bad in winter weather. She has fallen twice in the last year, so we have to be very careful to avoid this.
* Public transit isn’t really realistic (getting on and off buses would be difficult and she would not be able to manage routes)
* Ideally needs door-to-door or escorted transport
* I’m trying to find something affordable or covered (or partially covered)
Questions:
* Are there programs in Minneapolis / Hennepin County that help seniors get rides to medical appointments?
* Does Medicare cover anything like this or only certain plans? I believe she has Parts A and B.
* Are there local services that people have had good experiences with?
* Any volunteer programs or senior services I should look into?
Would really appreciate any leads, especially from people who’ve navigated this in Minnesota. Thanks!