LHC Group Revs Its JV Engine; Papa Teams Up with HomeThrive

LHC Group and LifePoint Health cement JV partnership

LHC Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LHCG) and LifePoint Health have further cemented their joint venture partnership with the purchases CMH Home Health Care, Casa de la Paz Hospice and St. Joseph Family Hospice.

CMH Home Health Care is a home health provider that serves Clinton County, Ohio. Casa de la Paz Hospice and St. Joseph Family Hospice are hospice providers located in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Lewiston, Idaho, respectively.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based LifePoint Health provides health care services through its hospitals, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers and post-acute facilities in 29 states.

Advertisement

As a part of the agreement, LHC Group and LifePoint Health will share ownership of CMH Home Health Care, Casa de la Paz Hospice and St. Joseph Family Hospice, with LHC Group taking on management responsibility of the three agencies. All agencies will retain their current names and locations.

The deal is slated to close on Dec. 1. LHC Group expects $3.6 million in annualized revenue from the expansion of the JV. 

LHC Group and LifePoint Health originally established their partnership in 2017.

Advertisement

“We are encouraged and excited by the continued growth and success of our partnership with LifePoint Health,” Keith Myers, LHC Group chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our goal is to help our JV partners expand their footprint, enhance access to these services and create healthier communities across the country.”

With the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) coming up, LHC Group is ramping up its JV strategy, built on partnerships with hospitals and health systems. Under PDGM, institutional referrals are generally reimbursed at higher rates, given patients are often more clinically complex.

In a different deal, LHC Group will purchase Las Vegas-based home health provider, Life Wellness. The deal is slated to close by Dec. 1, and the company expects $2.1 million in annualized revenue from the move.

Papa partners with HomeThrive

Grandkids on-demand startup Papa has teamed up with HomeThrive to provide companionship and in-home support services to older adults.

Founded in 2017, Miami-based startup Papa is a membership-based platform that connects college students and older adults to provide companionship and general assistance, including transportation services and other task-based help.

Northbrook, Illinois-based HomeThrive provides non-medical care management and personal assistance services to older adults.

Under the partnership, Papa will combine its grandkids on-demand services with HomeThrive’s social work, coaching and personal assistance services.

“We are thrilled to partner with Papa and support more aging adults in their homes,” Leland Brewster, vice president of product and business development at HomeThrive, said in a statement. “Families who aren’t able to have a live-in caregiver can now have peace of mind knowing that vetted and qualified Papa Pals will be able to assist their loved ones and help them stay engaged and healthy at home.”

In the past few years, Papa has gained notoriety through its partnerships with multiple Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.

Last year, the company partnered with health insurance giant Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) on a pilot program that allowed Humana’s MA members to have access to Papa’s services.

Papa has also partnered with the likes of Aetna and other large insurers.

“We’ve partnered with really large health plans like Aetna, Priority Health, Capital BlueCross, Vibra Health Plan, Humana, Alignment [Healthcare] and others, which is essentially bringing us across the nation,” Papa founder and CEO Andrew Parker, previously told Home Health Care News. “We’re expanding this work with our large health care partners and bringing our services to more geographies in the U.S.”

Companies featured in this article:

, , ,