California Gets "B" on Palliative Care Report Card

Originally posted on October 9, 2015

A state-by-state report card by the Center to Advance Palliative Care demonstrates that access to palliative care remains inadequate for millions of Americans living with serious illness despite continuing growth in the number of U.S. hospitals reporting palliative care programs.

California received a “B” grade in the report.

Scores for the ten most populous states are as follows:
 
  • Ohio: A (83)
  • New York: B (78)
  • California: B (74)
  • Illinois: B (72)
  • Penn: B (68)
  • Michigan: B (67)
  • North Carolina: B (65)
  • Florida: C (58)
  • Georgia: C (55)
  • Texas: C (43)
Read more about the report card methodology here.

Read the California case study on page 21 of the report.

Featured in the report is a case study on California highlighting efforts to increase access to palliative care throughout the state. Noted initiatives include:
 
  • Gov. Jerry Brown’s Let’s Get Healthy California Task Force, co-chaired by Diana Dooley, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Don Berwick, MD
  • The work of long-time palliative care champions such as the California Health Care Foundation, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, and the Palliative Care Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco
  • The passage of SB 1004, a law requiring the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to establish standards and provide technical assistance for Medi-Cal (Medicaid) managed-care plans to ensure delivery of palliative care services
  • The launch of the Institute for Palliative Care by the California State University system in an effort to expand the palliative care workforce
To see how all states rank, and to download the report card, visit reportcard.capc.org.