Compare 33 hospice & palliative medicine specialists in San Diego, CA. Check ratings, insurance, and availability.
33
Hospice & Palliative Medicine Specialists
100%
Accepting patients
73%
Most common: MD
Ranked by Clarity Score, based on profile detail, verification, and patient activity.
San Diego's healthcare runs on three competing systems: UC San Diego Health, Scripps Health, and Sharp HealthCare. Between them, they cover the county pretty thoroughly. The biotech corridor in Torrey Pines and Sorrento Valley also means clinical trials are unusually accessible here for a city this size.
San Diego has 33 hospice & palliative medicine specialists. The most common credential is MD (73%). 100% are currently accepting new patients.
San Diego sprawls north-south along the coast, so healthcare access depends heavily on which part of the county you live in. The Hillcrest-Mission Valley corridor is the densest medical zone. North County residents look to Scripps Encinitas and Palomar Health in Escondido. South Bay patients use Sharp Chula Vista or cross into the Hillcrest hub. The trolley connects downtown to some hospital areas, but most patients drive.
Providers practice throughout San Diego. La Jolla is uC San Diego Health and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla make this a hub for specialty and research-driven care. Gaslamp Quarter is downtown providers serve the urban core, with Sharp Memorial and UC San Diego Health a short drive away. Pacific Beach is a younger, active community with walk-in clinics and easy access to Scripps and Sharp hospital systems. Hillcrest is home to Scripps Mercy Hospital and a strong network of LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare providers.
Nearby hospitals include UC San Diego Health, Scripps Mercy Hospital, and Sharp Memorial Hospital. Local training programs run through University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and San Diego State University. San Diego is a major biotech hub with over 1,100 life sciences companies in the region.
A palliative care consultation involves a detailed conversation about your symptoms, concerns, goals, and what matters most to you. The physician will assess and treat symptoms (pain, nausea, shortness of breath, anxiety, insomnia) using medications and non-drug approaches. They help facilitate conversations about advance directives, code status, and treatment preferences. Hospice care includes regular home visits from nurses, aides, chaplains, social workers, and physicians, with medications and equipment provided.
If you're new to San Diego, pick a primary care doctor within one of the three big systems (UCSD, Scripps, or Sharp) before you need one. Walk-in urgent care is widely available, but establishing a PCP makes specialist access much faster.
Consider palliative care if you or a family member has a serious illness (cancer, heart failure, COPD, kidney failure, dementia, ALS) and is experiencing symptoms that reduce quality of life, needs help making treatment decisions, wants to clarify goals of care, or is struggling with the emotional burden of illness. Hospice is appropriate when curative treatment is no longer the goal and comfort becomes the priority.
Palliative care consultation copay: $30-75 · Hospice (Medicare): $0 copay · Hospice daily rate: $150-200 (covered by Medicare) · Respite care: 5 days covered per benefit period
San Diego, CA has 33 licensed hospice & palliative medicine specialists. 100% are currently accepting new patients, so finding an available provider should be straightforward.
Yes. 100% of hospice & palliative medicine specialists in San Diego, CA are currently accepting new patients. You can filter your search on FindClarity to show only providers who are taking new patients.
Employer plans in San Diego lean toward Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and Kaiser (which operates its own facilities in Kearny Mesa and Clairemont). Medi-Cal is managed through San Diego County's Health and Human Services. Covered California offers multiple plan options, with Molina and Blue Shield as common choices.
A palliative care consultation copay is $30 to $75. Hospice under Medicare has $0 copay. The daily hospice rate is $150 to $200 (covered by Medicare). Respite care covers 5 days per benefit period. Actual costs in San Diego, CA depend on the provider and your insurance plan. Hospice is one of the most cost-effective models in healthcare. It covers medications, equipment, and services related to the terminal diagnosis at no cost under Medicare. Patients can revoke hospice and return to curative treatment at any time.
San Diego healthcare is dominated by three systems: UC San Diego Health (academic, research-focused), Scripps Health (five hospital campuses, strong cardiology), and Sharp HealthCare (the largest system by patient volume). Most specialists are affiliated with one of these three, so your choice of PCP often determines your referral path.
MD stands for Doctor of Medicine and DO stands for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Both are equivalent qualifications. In San Diego, CA, 73% hold the MD credential and 12% hold DO. The difference is in training pathway, not quality of care.
73% of hospice & palliative medicine specialists in San Diego, CA accept Medicare. The Medicare Hospice Benefit covers hospice care at no cost to the patient, including medications, equipment, nursing, aide services, and bereavement support. Palliative care consultations are covered under standard Part B benefits. You can filter for Medicare-accepting providers on FindClarity.
San Diego has one of the highest concentrations of TRICARE-accepting providers in the country, given the large military presence (Naval Base San Diego, Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar). Most major systems and many independent practices accept TRICARE Prime and Select.
North County (Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Escondido) has grown faster than its healthcare infrastructure. Scripps Encinitas and Palomar Health are the main hospital systems. Primary care wait times can be longer than in central San Diego, especially for new patients. Urgent care centers fill some of the gap.
Top accepted carriers in San Diego, CA include medicare, unitedhealthcare, molina, qhp-68781, and qhp-63474.
Palliative care consultations are covered as specialist visits under medical insurance. Hospice is a Medicare benefit (Part A) with no copays for eligible patients. Medicaid and most private insurance plans also cover hospice. Hospice covers medications, equipment, nursing visits, aide services, counseling, and respite care. Patients can revoke hospice and return to curative treatment at any time.