The California Health Care Foundation and the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California cohosted a virtual statewide convening, “Driving Improvement in Medi-Cal Palliative Care (SB 1004): Reflection, Preparation, Action” in April 2021.

This event focused on:

• Progress and challenges delivering SB 1004 palliative care services reported by Medi-Cal managed care health plans and palliative care provider organizations.
• Considerations, dependencies, and decisions points for plans and providers regarding maintaining, expanding, or reducing use of virtual/remote visits over time.
• Innovative practices used by Medi-Cal palliative care providers and plans to improve the access to, quality of, and impact of their palliative care programs.
• Medi-Cal palliative care provider and MCP experiences delivering services that meet or exceed the All Plan Letter (APL) requirements, and how various approaches impact program volume, care quality, and program sustainability.

Sessions and presenters included:
State of SB 1004 Palliative Care: Looking Back — Looking Forward
Part A: Reports from plans and providers on volume and quality
Part B: How care is delivered and reflections on sustainability
Presenters: Dr. Anne Kinderman, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital; and Kathleen Kerr, Kerr Healthcare Analytics

Medi-Cal Palliative Care Virtual Visits — Today and Tomorrow
Presenters: Sofi Bergkvist, president, and Veenu Aulakh, senior innovation fellow, Center for Care Innovations; and Dr. Anne Kinderman, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital

Enhancing Medi-Cal Palliative Care Through Innovation
Presenters: L.A. Care Health Plan (Dr. Susan Stone and Lyrva Sanchez, RN); MedZed (Dr. Eve Makoff); Molina Healthcare (Blanca Martinez, MSW); and Roze Room (Lena Beker, CEO)

Plan and Provider Experiences Implementing Palliative Care — Variations and Promising Practices
Presenter: Kathleen Kerr, Kerr Healthcare Analytics