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

To improve access to care for serious illness, policy makers need evidence on how workforce capacity aligns with the need for palliative care. This study evaluated the palliative care workforce and policy environments at the state level, using a new data source: the 2024 Center to Advance Palliative Care's comprehensive Serious Illness Scorecard. We describe variation in the palliative care workforce relative to serious illness deaths across states and by five policy types related to serious illness: serious illness task forces, continuing medical education (CME), pediatric Medicaid waivers, adult payment policies, and Medicaid expansion. States varied from 2.91 to 19.86 hospice and palliative medicine-certified providers per 1,000 serious illness deaths, and seven states in the South census region had the lowest rates. CME for serious illness care and Medicaid expansion were significantly associated with higher rates. Between-state variation raises concerns about whether the workforce is sufficient to meet needs for people with serious illness in some southern states.