Earlier this month, the Papa team gathered with some of our valued clients and prospective clients for our 2025 Partner Summit. Over the course of three days, we heard from health plan leaders about creative approaches to maximizing in-home support benefits; from an actuarial expert about the future of Medicare Advantage; and from leaders across Papa about the latest research and innovations delivering even more value to health plans and their members.
The collaboration, curiosity, and camaraderie we witnessed over those few days exceeded our expectations. There’s something special about gathering in person around a common purpose and taking the time, uninterrupted, to learn from one another as we seek to advance it further.
We left Miami energized, bullish about the future, and buzzing with new ideas about how in-person social support can fill some of the many gaps our plan partners and their members face—from home health aide shortages to unknown risks in the home to transportation barriers that persist even with dedicated services, and so much more.
In the spirit of Papa, we also left with strong connections rooted in our common goal: to bring vital social support to those who need it, while improving the use of our overburdened healthcare system.
Here are the top takeaways and learnings from our time together.
Takeaway 1: There’s reason to be optimistic in Medicare Advantage, despite the continued headwinds.
The past two years in Medicare Advantage have been tumultuous, to say the least. Headwinds and uncertainty remain—yet there is cause to be optimistic, says Tim Murray, Principal at Wakely Consulting Group and our keynote speaker.
With CMS’ planned termination of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model, Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) appears to be the path forward. Greater flexibility for tailored, non-medical benefits based on an individual’s condition, rather than a broad population-based approach, can help ensure resources are directed where and how they’re most needed.
And with proposed rate increases on the horizon, forecasted in CMS’ CY 2026 Advance Notice, Medicare Advantage plans may be able to invest more in those resources and the proactive care that we know improves health and lowers costs.
Takeaway 2: The value of companion care extends far beyond feel-good.
“Many people think Papa’s value is that it feels good,” said Dr. Miguel Venereo, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Community Care Plan, during his fireside chat on Day 2. “That’s true, but that’s not all Papa does.”
The day prior, Tim and our Head of Research and Impact, Kelsey McNamara, presented results from several claims studies—some conducted by external actuary partners and others studied independently by clients themselves. All show similar outcomes: Papa members demonstrate more informed use of healthcare services and lowered medical costs. This includes a 9-19% reduction in cost of care, an 18% reduction in hospital admissions, a 19% increase in primary care visits, and 34% fewer high emergency department utilizers among various Medicare Advantage populations.
But how can we be sure Papa alone drove these outcomes if we’re not isolating the benefit? It’s a question we (and all service providers) are accustomed to and one we received at our Summit.
The truth is we cannot say Papa unequivocally caused these outcomes without a randomized controlled trial (something that’s impossible to do in the context of a filed supplemental benefit). Instead, we must validate them with rigorous studies and broader evidence to show repeatability. We've achieved this in the eight years since Papa's founding; numerous claims studies among different populations using different approaches all point toward the same trends and positive impact.
Dr. V confirmed this, sharing data from Community Care Plan’s Papa program among its Medicaid population, with a focus on prenatal/postpartum, adolescent, and age-in (55+) populations.
“Our experience and independent analyses match Papa’s prior research findings: members engaging with the Papa benefit show a decline in emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, and readmissions. Papa does more than touch the heart. It potentially saves lives.”
Takeaway 3: Everyone may want a pal, but not everyone needs one. Plans can now structure their Papa programs accordingly to drive the greatest impact.
Clients we’ve been working with for years were surprised to learn they can tailor their Papa benefit to bring social support to the members who need it most and at the times of greatest need.
For example, Kelsey presented populations more likely to be “Papa optimizers”—the members who need and use our services most, and thus experience the greatest savings from our support—based on a recent claims analysis. This includes members with high risk scores, multiple chronic conditions (4+), an uncontrolled chronic condition or chronic complications, and/or a disability.
Health plan clients can provide this member-level information and/or other cohorts of interest, like high emergency department utilizers or members recently discharged from the hospital, and Papa will structure enrollment efforts accordingly to focus on these members who need and will benefit from Papa most.
The impact of member targeting is evident in our data. While members from a broad Medicare Advantage population experienced a 9% reduction in cost of care after engaging with the Papa benefit, “Papa optimizers,” who are higher risk and use our services more, experience an 18-19% reduction.
Takeaway 4: Papa threw its long-term roadmap out the window and put its clients in the driver's seat.
The magic of Papa is in the relationships formed between our members and Papa Pals. We’ve spent years facilitating this in-person connection at scale and developing the tools and processes to support them safely and efficiently.
With this strong foundation in place, Papa’s Founder and CEO, Andrew Parker, revealed to Summit attendees that Papa doesn’t have a long-term roadmap. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. And it was pretty controversial.
In place of multi-year roadmaps, Papa People rally behind a short list of near-term priorities for a given period of time, usually several months and always shorter than one year, to remain agile and ensure we’re focusing resources on projects that will drive the most value. Those priorities are primarily driven by our clients and by the ever-evolving regulations that guide their businesses.
For example, when one of our partners had trouble reaching members for in-home assessments, they asked if Papa Pals could help and conduct the assessment themselves. We liked the idea and put it on the top of our priority list. A couple of months later, we're ready to launch the pilot program and we have more in the works.
Andrew presented a demo at the Summit showing how in-home assessments are differentiated in the Papa Pal app and what the education and experience look like for Papa Pals and their members.
Clients, prospects, and Papa People alike were buzzing with ideas about what other plan-driven priorities our tech-enabled Papa Pals can achieve—and sharing what’s worked at their plan. Like leveraging Papa Pals to promote a new community center and help members get there; educate members on new digital skills; and even encourage members to work as Papa Pals themselves to lift them out of poverty and drive purpose in their lives.
Opportunities for a trusted, in-home workforce abound, and we’re committed to making more of them a reality.
Closing thoughts
“Energized,” “invigorated,” “ready to change the world,” and with “a lot to consider for the future” is how we heard Summit attendees left Miami.
In the weeks since, the lively conversations about what more our configurable care network can achieve haven’t waned. In fact, it feels like this is just the beginning.
The future is certainly bright, and it’s more apparent than ever that the path forward is together—as we’ve always known it was.
