Angel Lorenzana is at the doctor’s office multiple times a week between dialysis treatment, iron injections and primary care. All the appointments are vital to his care, but without reliable transportation, he was picking and choosing which doctor to see first.

​He and his partner, Nilda Herrera, don’t have a car, and traveling via public transit for every appointment quickly adds up, especially while living on a fixed income.

​Over the past year, however, the couple has been relying on a program through Hartford Public Library that offers city residents Uber rides and public transit vouchers at no cost. The door-to-door service has been a major help and source of relief over the past year.

​“We shouldn't have to choose, but when you're in a situation where you are on a fixed income, you have to choose,” Lorenzana said. “Because … (doctors) are giving you the appointments, but they're more or less saying, like, ‘You guys got to fend for yourself and find your way to get here.’”

​Lack of access to reliable transportation is a well-known, longstanding barrier to routine healthcare for thousands of families nationwide.

A study by the University of Michigan found that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults 25 and older aren’t able to safely move from place to place in a timely manner, impacting health and livelihood.

In Connecticut, around 15% of adults said they don’t have reliable transportation, impacting urban, low-income and Black and Latino residents at twice the rate, according to nonprofit Data Haven.

​It’s an issue that continues to grow in the state, with around 150,000 more adults struggling to reach their destinations than last year. Data Haven also found a 7% increase in the number of adults who missed medical appointments.

​Local municipalities and nonprofits across Connecticut are working to address transportation as a barrier to healthcare by offering no-cost or discounted rides. The state’s Medicaid also offers free nonemergency medical transport for residents.

​Many of the programs, however, have strict eligibility qualifications or are limited in where they can go. Lorenzana, for example, doesn’t qualify for Medicaid, explaining that their fixed income is too high to meet the income eligibility requirements. If they want to qualify for that coverage, he said, they’d actively have to “spend down,” or reduce their excess income.

​Hartford Public Library launched the Health on the Go program in May 2025 with grant funding from the Cigna Group Foundation to help address the transportation gap in Hartford.

​It offers no-cost rides and vouchers for Hartford residents who don’t have reliable transportation to medical appointments, fitness programs, mobile medical care, and transportation assistance. They work in partnership with CT Transit, Uber Health, Sudor Taino, the Flyy Movement, and local healthcare providers.

​In addition, the grant funding helps host activities at the library that promote exercise and connection to local community health resources. Staff also provide on-site care coordination, referrals, and telehealth privacy booths.

​Since its launch, library staff said that the program has grown steadily. It currently averages 350 Uber rides per month and over 800 bus passes distributed for local appointments.

​“Almost every rider, Hartford adults who do not have a transportation benefit with their insurance provider, has commented on how incredibly helpful the program has been,” said library staff in a statement to CT Insider. “They are consistently able to get to medical appointments, don’t have to decide which bill not to pay so they have the funds for transportation, and don’t have to burden family members with taking time off from work to provide a ride. We know that when people are proactive with their health, there is less of a burden on healthcare systems, less use of emergency rooms, and overall a healthier community.”

​Not having reliable transportation, Lorenzana said, meant prioritizing which appointments to go to that week. They were also constantly worrying about whether they could afford a ride there.

​Even with public transit so close to their home, his partner, Herrera, said taking it each time is physically exhausting for Lorenzana.

​“We live close to the bus stop,” she said. But “just to go to the bus stop, it's like two blocks or three, and (he) can't really walk all of that,” Herrera said.

​They first learned about Health on the Go through the library's social worker soon after the program launched.

​Although hesitant at first, the couple took a chance, in hopes that it could relieve some of the financial stress. Lorenzana said it almost immediately “took some of that weight on for us.”

​The couple relies on Health on the Go about three to four times a week, using a mix of Uber rides and public transit vouchers. Many appointments are in New Haven, and some are even farther away, but Lorenzana said library staff work with them to figure it out.

​One of his appointments, for example, was in New York City, and the trip could’ve easily cost “a couple hundred bucks.” Lorenzana said library staff worked with them to cover the portions of the trip through Connecticut. The couple then paid for their own transportation inside the city.

​“We took a chance with it, and let me tell you, if I can recommend it to people in my community. I would say 100% it's worth it,” he said. “It's a lifesaver. It really is.”

​However, like any grant initiative, Health on the Go funding is limited, especially as gas and voucher prices continue to rise. Herrera said that it is a major concern for the couple moving forward. She added that losing the program would also be a significant loss for the community, as it serves and benefits people of all ages.

​“The day they are defunded, we would have to go back to square one,” she said.

© 2026 Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
Visit www.journalinquirer.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.