The South Had The Lowest Rates Of Hospice And Palliative Medicine-Certified Providers In The US, 2024

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Palliative Care Medicine

Background:

• Access to palliative care is crucial for individuals with serious illness.
• Understanding the palliative care workforce capacity is essential for policymakers.
• State-level data on palliative care workforce and policy environments are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the palliative care workforce and policy environments across U.S. states.
• To identify variations in palliative care provider density relative to serious illness deaths.
• To examine the association between specific state policies and palliative care workforce capacity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2024 Center to Advance Palliative Care's Serious Illness Scorecard data.
• Analyzed the number of hospice and palliative medicine-certified providers per 1,000 serious illness deaths by state.
• Assessed five policy types: serious illness task forces, continuing medical education (CME), pediatric Medicaid waivers, adult payment policies, and Medicaid expansion.

Main Results:

• Significant variation observed in providers per serious illness death, ranging from 2.91 to 19.86.
• Seven Southern states exhibited the lowest rates of palliative care providers.
• Continuing medical education (CME) for serious illness care and Medicaid expansion were linked to higher provider rates.

Conclusions:

• Substantial disparities exist in palliative care workforce capacity across U.S. states.
• The current workforce may be insufficient to meet the needs of individuals with serious illness in some Southern states.
• State policies, such as CME and Medicaid expansion, show promise in bolstering the palliative care workforce.