Papa Inc., which provides a mobile app service to enlist gig workers to assist seniors, marketed as “grandkids on-demand,” has partnered with health plans in Rhode Island

Service in R.I. offers ‘grandkids on-demand’

BY MARC LAROCQUE | Larocque@PBN.com

NOW IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HEALTH PLANS in Rhode Island, a company called Papa Inc. is providing a service that’s been marketed as “grandkids on-demand,” using a mobile app to enlist gig workers in a style similar to how drivers are hailed for Uber or DoorDash.

And Papa’s workers – dubbed “pals” – sent to local homes are not just a benefit for the seniors who can now request visits for companionship, transportation and help with light housework.

The health care companies partnering with Papa are able to capitalize by collecting bigger federal reimbursements from Medicare in connection to their Medicare Advantage offerings, the company says. That’s because the workers are sometimes tasked with delivering reminders for policyholders to get recommended tests, such as diabetes and blood pressure screenings, which is taken into account as part of the performance measures used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assign star ratings for these policies. With higher star ratings come bonus payments from the federal agency.

Efforts by pals, who are independent contractors, to remind policyholders to get checked by the doctor can also lead to the discovery of health conditions that provide higher reimbursements from Medicare.

This year, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island became two of the latest health insurance companies to partner with Papa, as part of Blue Cross’ Medicare Advantage and Neighborhood Health’s INTEGRITY MedicareMedicaid plans.

‘I do basically anything grandkids would do.’

ANNAGRETTE OBERHOLTZER, Papa Inc. independent contractor

Papa, founded in Florida in 2017, now is partnered with 65 Medicare Advantage plans nationwide. The forprofit, Miami-based company’s stated goal is to address loneliness among seniors, a problem that’s been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other issues that impact health outcomes, including access to transportation and food insecurity.

Pals undergo background checks, and only about 15% of those who apply to be a pal are approved, according to Papa Inc.

At least 70,000 seniors in Rhode Island have access to Papa as part of their insurance policies. Of those, 351 Blue Cross members have taken advantage of Papa and about 850 Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island members have done so.

“We’re proud to serve members in Rhode Island to address barriers to health and combat loneliness,” Papa said in an emailed statement. “Pals act as eyes and ears on the ground – they have access to homes and hearts, and can spot issues, triage and escalate them as needed.”

Dr. Christopher Ottiano, medical director for Neighborhood Health, said participating INTEGRITY Medicare-Medicaid plan holders book an average 2.78 visits from Pals per month, for a total of 2,600 visits so far. That utilization rate is higher than Papa’s national average of two visits per month, “demonstrating a strong desire to enroll in this new benefit,” he said.

The partnership provides INTEGRITY members with access to up to 120 hours of visits from pals per year, Ottiano said.

“We added the Papa benefit after working closely with our applied data science partner and identifying that our INTEGRITY members are more than twice as likely to be at high risk for social isolation than other adult members in the organization’s Medicaid and commercial plans,” Ottiano said. “In this case, we knew a group of our members had a high incidence

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