Medical transit firm expanding in S.A.
California-based Saferide Health expects to add 100 jobs in five years
Saferide Health, a California-based company that specializes in arranging transportation to medical appointments, has expanded to downtown San Antonio, where it expects to employ 100 people within five years.
The company has hired 15 people and plans to add 50 to 60 more workers to its payroll by June 1, Saferide Chief Revenue Officer Andy Auerbach said Friday.
“We found San Antonio to be very business-friendly,” Auerbach said. The privately owned tech startup is based in the Los Angeles area and was founded in 2016.
The company describes itself as a “digital health platform” that arranges transportation to medical appointments for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid patients.
Jenna Saucedo-herrera, president and CEO of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, said Saferide will have a positive affect on San Antonio beyond the jobs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted disparities in healthcare access and outcomes in our country,” she said in a statement. “Saferide Health is an exceptional addition to our
San Antonio tech community, providing innovative solutions to remove transportation barriers and increase access to healthcare for underserved Texans.”
At its meeting Tuesday, Bexar County Commissioners Court is expected to authorize county staff to firm up specifics on a $50,000 county innovation fund grant for Saferide.
The company would be eligible for the grant once it hires 60 employees here.
Saferide also applied for city assistance but was rejected. “Due to budget constraints implemented to mitigate the financial impacts of COVID-19, the city did not have an incentive offering available for the company’s level of investment,” said Caitlin Cowart, a spokeswoman for the city’s Economic Development Department.
“We are excited to see Saferide still saw the benefit of joining our downtown technology cluster,” she said.
The company this week began leasing office space in the Burns Building at 401 East Houston. Employees won’t report there until June 1.
A change in Texas state law that took effect at the start of the year allows companies such as Saferide Health to contract directly with the Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans to provide transportation for patients unable to get to their medical appointments on their own.
Previously, the state of
Texas directly contracted with transportation brokers for the services.
Saferide contracts with ride-sharing service Lyft, medical transportation companies and other providers. Patients can call a dispatcher or request a ride electronically through a computer or mobile device.
Saferide said the arrangement
helps reduce the number of missed medical appointments.
The Saferide jobs in San Antonio will start in the $20-an-hour range and rise into six-figures, Auerbach said. The company is hiring for various posts, including in engineering, member and network services, human resources, finance and information technology.