Palliative Care Movement Achieves Significant Progress in California
An article published on the California Health Care Foundation blog describes the growth of palliative care in California, including the Partnership HealthPlan of California's pilot to determine if fewer patients would require hospitalization if they received palliative care in their homes.
As detailed in the article, throughout the years, there has been significant growth, including in 2018, when the state senate started to implement Senate Bill 1004, making California the first state to require that all eligible members of Medicaid managed care plans have access to palliative care. Per CAPC's Brynn Bowman, MPA, "The result was 'seismic.' SB 1004 really was groundbreaking in terms of state Medicaid policy innovation, and we’ve already seen other states looking to California and hoping to follow in its footsteps. California’s example has really held up the need for equitable access to palliative care.”