Uber Health announced it is partnering with NationsBenefits, a provider of supplemental benefits, to allow NationsBenefits members to use their flex cards for rides on Uber and same-day delivery of groceries on Uber Eats.

The flex card is a single debit card that allows members to pay for eligible expenses with their benefit allowance, as an alternative to traditional member reward programs.

The alliance will allow members to look at their flex card balance directly in the Uber app. They can also add their personal payment method to the app for simple checkout with both covered and personal items in the same shopping cart.

The companies will also work toward allowing members to shop directly for groceries on the UberEats app via the Nations Marketplace.

Furthermore, health plans will have the ability to configure transportation access to help members get to the grocery store and medical appointments.

"Our partnership with NationsBenefits makes accessing and using existing ancillary benefits easy and convenient, as we continue to unlock flex cards on our platform to reach even more people and boost their overall access to care through rides and grocery delivery," Zachary Clark, global head of Uber Health, said in a statement. 

"This is another major step forward in making benefits simpler at scale, especially for Medicare Advantage members."

Michael Parker, co-CEO at NationsBenefits, said Uber Health enables his company to deliver high-value benefits to its members and help them have a great experience.

"This collaboration marks a significant milestone in expanding access for our members and empowering them to lead healthier lives," Parker said in a statement.

THE LARGER TREND 

In May, Uber Health introduced a feature that allows users to add a caregiver to their Uber profile to ask for rides and deliveries, track them in real time and pay using the caregiver's health benefits. 

The service also provides caregivers with insights into the care recipients' benefits, including the balance of the monthly grocery benefit or remaining rides that are covered.

In January, Uber Health and healthcare data analytics company Socially Determined partnered to expand access to food and prescription delivery and transportation services by leveraging social determinants of health analytics. 

Socially Determined offers payers, providers and life sciences organizations an analytics platform that gives data insights into social risk factors. 

In May, NationsBenefits launched NationsBenefits POS, an all-in-one, handheld point-of-sale terminal that independent retailers can use to transact with eligible health plan members. Retail partners, with proprietary software, are able to accept the NationsBenefits Mastercard Prepaid Card in-store.

In April, NationsBenefits announced that Albertsons joined NationsBenefits’ network of grocery and over-the-counter retailers. As a result, health plan members could purchase groceries via the Benefits Pro Portal’s retail partner ‘Marketplace’ at Albertsons stores, including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME and Shaw’s.