Florida has one of the nation’s largest senior populations—about 5 million people, or nearly 22% of the population—and a recent study from the Humana Foundation finds that many of them are struggling with their mental health.
The research study, The State of Senior Emotional Health in Florida, found that more than 12% of Florida seniors are diagnosed with depression, 10% of rural seniors experience frequent mental distress—higher than the national average of 8.7%—and from 2022 to 2024, hospitalization due to mental disorders among Florida seniors rose 16%. Older adults who have mobility issues are more than three times as likely to experience depression as those without disabilities.
Among the factors contributing to Florida seniors’ mental health challenges are social isolation, financial insecurity, caregiving demands, and barriers to mental health access, including provider shortages and transportation insecurity. This can be a vicious cycle: If vulnerable patients can’t get the treatment they need because they can’t access care, those conditions only get worse.
Financial pressures in particular “leave seniors choosing between essentials, like medications, transportation, and healthy food, increasing stress and elevating the risk of depression and anxiety,” the report said.
Budgets are strained for Floridians of all ages: The percentage of residents living at or below the poverty line is roughly equal to the U.S. average (12% in 2024), though a much larger percentage of households (34% in 2023) earned more than the poverty level but not enough to afford a survival budget that includes housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare, technology, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses, according to the United Way of Florida. This can affect residents’ access to healthcare and transportation.
A Healthcare System Under Strain
Managing mental health issues can be more difficult when a state’s healthcare system has challenges of its own. Florida ranks in the bottom quarter of the country (39th) based on 50 measures of health care access and affordability, prevention and treatment, avoidable hospital use and costs, health outcomes and healthy behaviors, income disparity, and equity, according to The Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Scorecard on State Health System Performance. About 13% of adults went without medical care due to cost in 2023.
Medicaid is a major source of medical support for seniors in Florida: About 700,000 seniors are enrolled in the program, either as stand-alone coverage or with additional Medicare coverage as part of a dual-eligible special needs plan (D-SNP). Medicaid covers nursing home payments for more than half of all Florida seniors who are living in such assisted living facilities.
Medicaid also covers non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), so that seniors who lack reliable transportation can get rides to medical appointments—including crucial behavioral health care to support their mental health.
When a Ride Becomes a Health Intervention
For seniors struggling to make ends meet and to access the behavioral health care and social supports they need, NEMT is increasingly recognized as a key element of patients’ holistic care. The benefit is provided by Medicaid, including dual-eligible plans, as well as some Medicare Advantage health plans.
Transportation can enable continuity of care interventions that lower healthcare costs and improve readmission rates—also a persistent challenge in Florida—especially for older Floridians managing chronic conditions. Continuity of care encompasses the coordination and integration of a patient’s medical records and care across all providers and settings, including behavioral health.
In Florida, a series of operational issues have driven poor NEMT member experiences: low trip fulfillment, inconsistent on-time performance, high complaint volume, and limited provider availability—especially outside of dense metro corridors. As a nationwide NEMT provider, SafeRide Health solves these specific problems directly, with high fulfillment and on-time performance, low grievance rates, and a provider network that is specifically designed to exceed demand. Further, SafeRide’s unified technology platform connects all aspects of the ride journey, raising the bar for operational performance and member experience in Florida and across the country.
SafeRide reduces complaints by addressing the problems that members have felt most directly: late arrivals, missed pickups, poor communication, and inconsistent service quality. Clearer trip status visibility, faster rescheduling when disruptions occur, and tighter enforcement of service standards lowers repeat complaint drivers. This is especially crucial when it comes to critical care, so SafeRide tracks metrics for those life-sustaining rides to ensure the most vulnerable are getting to care regularly, safely, and on time.
SafeRide’s mission since its founding in 2016 has been to return access and dignity to care, and while the company has sustained an impressive 99% fulfillment rate and 4.8/5 average ride rating, it is focused on constantly improving its operations and service to members.
Early Intervention, Better Outcomes
As Americans age and their lives change, loneliness and social isolation can be a real and pressing challenge. What’s more, chronic conditions that become more prevalent in old age can increase the risk of mental health conditions. Family members and caregivers can help keep an eye out for signs of depression and anxiety in loved ones and talk to care providers about the potential need for behavioral health care or social supports that can help manage these conditions. Health plans and providers can then ensure that these insights are acted upon.
“Depressed older adults visit the doctor and emergency room more often, use more medication, incur higher outpatient charges, and stay longer in the hospital,” according to the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah, and it’s estimated that up to 63% of older adults with a mental health problem do not receive the services they need.
That’s why regular care, and non-emergency medical transportation support to get there when needed, can be so transformative for seniors, health plans, and the healthcare system. Depression is treatable in 80% of cases.
A Smarter Approach to Senior Transportation
In Florida and across the country, SafeRide Health is a trusted partner to Medicaid and Medicare Advantage health plans, dedicated to supporting the unique needs of their members. SafeRide has addressed three major NEMT challenges in Florida, both urban and rural: reliability, program integrity, and visibility.
Behind the scenes, SafeRide has integrated guardrails to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse without impacting the member experience or risking transportation delays for patients who depend on rides. These include real-time analytics, automated eligibility checks, and structured investigations to prevent improper billing and inappropriate mode usage.
NEMT is a strategic tool for health plans focused on stabilizing access, improving quality, and reducing avoidable costs in Florida’s evolving healthcare landscape, and SafeRide can help them achieve those goals.