Kaiser Health News pointed out that individuals who have cancer, kidney failure or HIV/AIDS frequently have problems with pain, shortness of breath, nausea and fatigue. Palliative care steps in to try to keep these patients as pain-free and comfortable as possible.

Palliative care teams typically include a doctor, a nurse, a social worker and a spiritual counselor. The goal of the team is to manage symptoms and decrease pain. The palliative care team also coordinates a patient's care among different providers, works with the family to determine the right treatment decisions and, if the patient is nearing death, the team offers emotional and spiritual support.

Hospitals are finding palliative care programs to be cost-effective, while improving health outcomes. They make patients feel better which can, in turn, help promote healing. A study published in 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated that lung cancer patients who received palliative care had a better quality of life and lived longer than those patients receiving standard care.

Yet the Kaiser News report said insurers aren't yet reimbursing hospitals for palliative services, except for doctor visits and hospice-related care. . "Unless you have a health-care system or a large hospital funding the rest of the team, you really can't provide [palliative] care," said Michael Nisco, medical director of hospice and palliative care services at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, CA, in the article.